1:55 p.m. ET
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Tim BontempsESPN
The Boston Celtics acquired Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers on Friday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, providing the type of playmaker that president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and coach Ime Udoka believe they need to elevate the franchise as a championship contender.
The Pacers get a 2023 first-round pick and five players from the Celtics in return, including center Daniel Theis and 2021 first-round pick Aaron Nesmith, sources told Wojnarowski.
Stevens specifically identified playmaking as an issue in his postseason meeting with reporters following the Celtics’ loss to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.
“I think we need a little bit more play,” Stevens said earlier this month. “I think that’s real … We’ve got to make sure we keep playing at pace. When we are at our best, we play with tempo.
“… But there’s no question, in this league, the more guys that can play offensively, the better. And the challenge again is to make sure that whatever you do around the boundaries of our list, we have a unique identity and we have a uniqueness in our size and our ability to be flexible in all areas, so we have to take that into account when we add to our team. But if we can keep that and add some playmaking, yeah, without a doubt, you want to do that.”
The Celtics certainly added a little to sign the 29-year-old Brogdon, who averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 33 games last season with Indiana.
Not only does the versatile 6-foot-5 guard help Boston in a variety of ways offensively — both as a passer and as a career 37.6% 3-point shooter — but he’s another long, powerful defender who to add to a stable of big guards for the Celtics that includes reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart and Derrick White, whom Boston acquired in another trade at the February trade deadline.
Boston was also able to sign Brogdon without sacrificing any of the top eight players from their playoff rotation. The Celtics could also add a second player in the coming days, as sources told Wojnarowski that after the San Antonio Spurs finalize the expected release of forward Danilo Gallinari, his preference is to join the Celtics after clearing waivers.
Those additions will also address other needs — depth and scoring off the bench — that Stevens pointed out after the season ended.
“I think we have to walk a little bit of a fine line,” Stevens said at the time. “I think teams are fragile. I think the way teams work together and act together is fragile. And I think your identity as a team when you find one that’s successful, which we’ve done this year on the defensive end of the field and when we’ve been at our best sharing the ball on offense, those things are fragile.
“So just adding doesn’t mean you’re not taking something away from the group. And changing significant parts of the group doesn’t mean it can’t completely take your identity and shift it in a direction that isn’t successful. So it’s a pretty fine line. If you ask me right now what we need, I’d like to have a little more points — back-to-back goals — off the bench. I think we have some short-term needs there.”
Meanwhile, Indiana continues to retool its roster around its young backcourt of Tyreese Halliburton, whom the Pacers acquired at the trade deadline last season in a trade for Domantas Sabonis with the Sacramento Kings, and rookie Benedict Maturin, the sixth overall pick in last week’s NBA draft.
Thies averaged 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in 47 games between Houston and Boston last season, while Nesmith, a 2020 first-round pick, averaged 3.8 points in 52 games.
The contracts of Fitts, Stauskas and Morgan would need to be guaranteed for the deal to work under NBA salary cap rules.
Brogdon was also re-elected in March to a three-year term as vice president of the NBA Players Association Executive Committee.
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