If Malcolm Brogdon Is Truly Still Mad About Almost Being Traded Then It's Time To Grow Up

Brian Fluharty. Getty Images.

If Brad Stevens had his way, Malcolm Brogdon would not be entering the 2023-24 season as a member of the Boston Celtics. 

Not because his first year didn't work out or he wasn't the right fit, Brogdon was awesome. That was just the price of doing business in an effort to trade for Kristaps Porzingis before the Clippers backed out

As a result, the Celts had to pivot to trading Smart instead which left them in a bit of an awkward spot with the veteran guard. Even though Brogdon has been in the league for a while and has been traded before, given the year he just had and how he seemed to buy into sacrificing in order to come off the bench, I'm sure that was obviously upsetting to some degree. I can only imagine how those conversations went between both sides when the trade broke down, and even Joe himself admitted that things were going to be a work in progress to smooth over

The organization has had a few conversations. I think anytime that you’re in a situation like that and you’re in a relationship, you just have to take small steps into it. There’s a healing process, there’s a listening process, and there’s a process towards — this is where we’re at and this is where we have to get to. So, we’ve had some conversations as an organization, but at the same time we understand the situation that it was and as the healing process goes on we’ll continue to move just forward as well as we can.”

Essentially saying a whole lot without saying anything if we're being honest. To me this let us know that yeah, Brogdon may not have been too thrilled about the potential trade, but I think most people would expect him to be a professional about it because at the end of the day he's still on a team that has legit championship expectations. Not only that, his role is even more important given the fact that Smart is gone. The Celts need Brogdon even more than they did last season. I would imagine his minutes/usage go up as long as he's healthy enough to stay on the court.

So why is this all creeping back up a few weeks before camp? For that you can attribute it all to the speculation from the Globe's Gary Washburn

Keep in mind, that there's no actual reporting here. There's just an assumption that because we the public haven't heard anything about this topic, that things must be really bad. That he "thinks" the communication between the sides hasn't been fruitful. It sort of reminded me about how people tried to drum up drama around the Jaylen extension because we hadn't "heard" anything about it as the weeks went by. What happened? There was no drama, and he eventually signed the extension.

As is usually the case with the Celts and this sort of half true half fabricated drama, of course it's now a storyline

Whenever this kind of stuff comes up, it's always a nice reminder of why Joe tends to be a dick to the media/Gary Washburn in particular

I think it's fair to say that Washburn sometimes tends to try and stir the pot/start some shit which clearly doesn't fly with Joe, and this Brogdon stuff is the latest example. There's some truth to the fact that Brogdon was probably pissed when this all first went down, Mazzulla basically confirmed it in late July. But just because we haven't heard anything about it since doesn't mean this is an issue heading into camp. It just means we haven't heard anything about it. I could argue the fact that we aren't hearing new reports about Brogdon being unhappy and now he's the one demanding a trade tells us that maybe he's actually calmed down. Only he and the team truly know what the situation is.

Here's what I do know though. The season is way too important right now to have things compromised by Malcolm Brogdon. He either needs to get over the trade and be prepared for another great season or Brad has to do what he can to replace him. We're entering another legit title or bust season with the Celts being the current favorites to win a championship, and that is all that matters. If almost getting traded is enough to sour you that much and ruin what is a great opportunity to play and win a ring, then see ya later. Being a Celtic and almost getting traded is basically a right of passage anyway unless your name is Jayson Tatum, so I'm not really sure why there was any sort of shock to begin with. 

The issue of course is now with Smart gone, the Celts guard rotation is already a bit of a question. Derrick White is basically the only thing you can count on right now. He's never hurt, and you know what to expect in his minutes. Brogdon is still an injury concern, and Payton Pritchard is still undersized at the position and is more of an off ball guard anyway. Part of what made that group so great last year was the fact that you had all 4 guys, now they don't. 

This time around, they don't really have the luxury of having Malcolm Brogdon drama if we're being honest.

With each passing day, we get closer and closer to the start of the season and you know that must be true because with that comes some manufactured drama. It does feel kind of nice to be back, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.