The Indiana Pacers traded Malcolm Brogdon to the Boston Celtics on Friday, and the deal looks significantly one-sided on paper. Twitter wasted no time letting the Pacers hear about it.
The Celtics managed to land Brogdon by trading a 2023 first-round pick, Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts and Juwan Morgan. None of those players were part of their regular rotation last season. They probably will not be major contributors in Indiana or wherever else they end up, either.
After the details of the trade emerged, fans and the media immediately began bashing the Pacers.
Boston got Malcolm Brogdon for a bag of chips pic.twitter.com/X6fB0UCdkb
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) July 1, 2022
What the Celtics gave up for Brogdon pic.twitter.com/8GFYW72WWy
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 1, 2022
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) July 1, 2022
Brogdon to the Celtics for nothing seems like a good trade for the Celtics.
— Pat Gallen (@PatGallenCBS3) July 1, 2022
Of course, there is a reason the Pacers were unable to land a huge haul. Brogdon averaged an impressive 19.1 points, 5.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game last season, but he was injured for much of the year. He played in just 36 games and has played in more than 56 games just twice in his six-year career.
Trading Brogdon and his $22 million salary also allowed the Pacers to free up enough salary cap space for a max contract slot.
Indiana drops to a projected $31M below the salary cap in the trade.
Good enough for a max slot
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) July 1, 2022
It would stand to reason that the Pacers discussed Brogdon with other teams before trading him to Boston. The Celtics’ offer must have been they could do.
