The Boston Celtics are among the winners of the offseason so far. Away from the noise surrounding Kevin Durant and the Gobert blockbuster, last year’s finalist has once again sensibly strengthened his squad. The trade for Malcolm Brogdon shows one thing above all: The Celtics are reaching for title number 18.
In the end, the Celtics ran out of air – that was more than clear against the Golden State Warriors. Jayson Tatum played almost 1,000 minutes in the recently ended playoffs, only 16 players in the history of the playoffs played more minutes than the forward (record holder is Rip Hamilton in 2004 with Detroit: 1,079 minutes).
Jaylen Brown (920) and 36-year-old Al Horford (815) complete the trio at the top, only fourth (Klay Thompson, 792 minutes) comes a player from the champions. Boston had a nine-man playoff rotation, but that dwindled as the postseason progressed. There was hardly any relief from the bench, and in addition to an ever-worsening offense, it was the main reason that Golden State triumphed in six games in the finals.
Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Grant Williams only scored 9 points (!) in games 5 and 6, there is no more obvious way to explain the Celtics’ lack of depth in the decisive moments of the season. And this is exactly where Celtics boss Brad Stevens came in and made Boston one of the big winners in the early days of free agency.
In the shadow of the drama in Brooklyn and Rudy Gobert’s blockbuster trade to Minnesota, the Celtics engineered a deal with Indiana that gives them a key rotation player and costs them little in terms of roster structure. Here’s the deal:
The trade between the Celtics and Pacers around Theis at a glance
| Get Celtics | received pacers |
| Malcolm Brogdon | Daniel Theis |
| Aaron Nesmith | |
| Nick Stauskas | |
| Malik Fitts | |
| John Morgan | |
| 2023 First Round Pick (Top 12 Protected) |
Boston Celtics: Brogdon is the playmaker needed
With Malcolm Brogdon, the Celtics get exactly what Stevens identified as a possible construction site in his exit interview. “We need a little more playmaking because we stagnated in some phases and didn’t play at pace (…) I would also like to have more scoring and constant shooting from the bench.”
Now, Brogdon isn’t the most dynamic player, but he is a playmaker who has proven to be a starter in the NBA as well. In Boston they will probably allow themselves the luxury of getting the 29-year-old off the bench. The former Rookie of the Year averaged 18.9 points and 6.3 assists in his three years in Indiana, hitting 35.2 percent of his attempts from downtown.
That sounds manageable at first, but it must be mentioned here that Brogdon made a lot of attempts from dribbling with the Pacers. The guard was more efficient from the catch-and-shoot, almost 42 percent with around 800 attempts in the career is a good guideline. In Boston, Brogdon will of course also hold the Wilson, but will also have periods of playing off the ball when Brown or Tatum have it in their hands.
At 1.96 meters, Brogdon fits perfectly into the Celtics’ defensive system. The former second-round pick is tremendously physical and at least another solid defender. Smaller guards can give him trouble, but that shouldn’t be a problem with the Celtics’ switching system. In short: Brogdon complements a possible playoff rotation and makes it better.
Boston Celtics: It’s going to be really expensive
More problematic is the medical record, which is probably one of the reasons why the Milwaukee Bucks didn’t want to pay him in 2019 and instead sent him to Indiana in a sign-and-trade deal. With the exception of his rookie season, Brogdon missed at least 16 games, 21/22 the playmaker only played 36 games (although Indy kept him out in the end).
That’s quite a risk, especially since Brogdon has three years left on his contract and will rake in $67.6 million by 2025. Now the guard will not shoulder the same burden as in Indiana, but it remains a risk and at the same time an indication that Boston has tasted blood. This team has now become even more expensive – but the focus is clearly on another championship.
The Celtics are already paying more than $163 million for ten players under contract and will therefore also have to deduct luxury tax (currently around $32 million). This already includes Danilo Gallinari, who will join the Celtics for the mini-MLE (around 6.5 million) for two years.
Boston Celtics: Gallinari to bring scoring off the bench
The Italian had a solid season for Atlanta, averaging just under 12 points a game as a bencher, but fell victim to the trade for Dejounte Murray and was promptly sacked by San Antonio. The 34-year-old reportedly even left money on the table to sign in Boston. On the one hand because the Celtics are his favorite teamon the other hand because Gallo sees an opportunity here for his first ring.
At least in the regular season, Gallinari should be able to absorb minutes. Even in the late autumn of his career, the forward is a clever scorer with a good throw. You know what to get from him. His defensive limitations are also known, here coach Ime Udoka will have to find solutions to hide the sluggish winger.
He is also prone to minor injuries, although last year’s 66 games were the second most since his cruciate ligament injury, which cost him the entire 2014/15 season. But the idea behind his commitment is clear: Gallinari should relieve the stars and, if necessary, widen the field. He can, he already had a similar role in Atlanta. Last year, Boston lacked such a long forward that could create for itself.
On paper, the Celtics have once again significantly strengthened. Brogdon in particular should do the team a lot of good as another ball handler and organizer. It is bearable that Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith and the first round pick 2023 were sacrificed for this.
Boston Celtics: A construction site remains
What remains is a smaller gap in the frontcourt. Al Horford should get his breaks again in the regular season, Robert Williams’ health is always a question mark. With Grant Williams or Gallinari, the Celtics have small ball options, but another big man would do the team good.
In any case, the Celtics still have at least three squad slots available (if second-round pick JD Davison is saved, Sam Hauser already extended on Sunday). There are still trade exceptions from the trades of Evan Fournier, Juancho Hernangomez or Dennis Schröder that the Celtics could use to get players. However, given the looming luxury tax bill, that is rather unlikely.
Instead, the Celtics will have to use the rest ramp. But it looks rather thin, especially in the big positions, after Deandre Ayton (who is not an issue in Boston) names like Montrezl Harrell, Gorgui Dieng, Dwight Howard, Serge Ibaka, Hassan Whiteside or Thomas Bryant are still without a contract.
Either way, the Celtics’ offseason so far can be considered amazing. With no real financial flexibility, Boston has brought in a potential starting point guard and a scoring bench unit forward for just a first-round pick and a few substitutes. That’s worthy of all credit, Udoka opens up new lineup options and should be good enough as of now to classify the Celtics as hot title contenders in the coming year.
Brogdon agrees, by the way, who immediately made himself popular with Celtics fans with this Twitter post. Jayson Tatum would certainly be happy if he no longer had to work what felt like 44 minutes per game in the playoffs.
Boston Celtics: The 2022-23 roster
| Point Guard | Shooting Guard | Small Forward | Power Forward | Center |
| Marcus Smart | Jaylen Brown | Jayson Tatum | Al Horford | Robert Williams III |
| Malcolm Brogdon | Derrick White | Sam Hauser | Danilo Gallinari | Grant Williams |
| Payton Pritchard | J.D. Davidson | – | – | – |
italics: Still without a contract