Celtics Could Have Trouble Trading Malcolm Brogdon Anywhere According To New Report

It looked as if the Boston Celtics had pulled off a heist when they acquired Malcolm Brodgon for pennies on the dollar from the Indiana Pacers last summer.

Brogdon, who has been plagued with injuries through his career, had a bounce back season in 2022-23 and won the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.

But those same injury struggles popped up as the worst possible time, as he missed game six and was extremely limited in games five and seven of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Then came news Wednesday that the Celtics traded Brogdon to the Los Angeles Clippers. The move was part of three-team deal that would send Kristaps Porzingis to Boston from the Washington Wizards.

But the deal never got completed.

Instead, it fell apart due to injury concerns surrounding Brogdon.

Boston then traded Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of a different three-team trade to acquire Pozingis.

But where does that leave Brogdon going forward?

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that both he and the Celtics may not be in no-man’s land.

“Brogdon has a health issue,” Windhorst said on ESPN’s Get Up. “A health issue that, as I understand, is so significant that not only can the Celtics not do this trade, there’s probably no Malcolm Brogdon trade that they can do in the short term.”

Brogdon played through a partial tear in the tendon coming out of his right elbow that leads into his forearm during the playoffs.

But he’s also dealt with persistent knee injuries throughout his career.

So now the Celtics, and Brogdon, find themselves in a difficult spot. It appears he’s there to stay at least until the end of his contract in 2024.

Beyond that, however, it’s anyone’s guess as to what the next steps are for either side.