UVA basketball alum Malcolm Brogdon had his choice of trade destinations this summer. He decided on Boston, even though that means he will be a sixth man with the Celtics.
“I picked Boston because I want to win,” said Brogdon, who averaged 18.9 points, 6.3 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game as the starting point guard for the Indiana Pacers over the past three seasons.
“It doesn’t matter if I’m the sixth man, whatever role I’m playing, I’m going to accept it, and I’m going to go out there and embrace it. I want to add on to what this team has. This team has a great unit, great chemistry. They were on the verge of winning a championship, as we saw, and they needed a little bit more. So, I’m going to come and add on to what’s already going on.”
The Celtics, a game under .500 on Jan. 21, went 28-7 down the stretch, then fought their way all the way to the NBA Finals, and had a 2-1 lead on Golden State before the Warriors rallied to win in six.
Brogdon, acquired from the Pacers for five players and a first-round draft pick, will get minutes at the point behind the starter, Marcus Smart, and will be an option to play alongside Smart and shooting guard Jaylen Brown in late-game situations.
“I think we will be the best defensive backcourt in the league, for sure,” Brogdon said. “Offensively, I think we can be great. I think we got guys like Jayson Tatum, I mean, Jaylen and Jayson make the game easier for us and take the pressure off of us on both sides of the ball. But those guys’ roles are to lead this team on offense and to score the ball and to be the monsters they are. Our job as a backcourt is to make it easier for them to defend when they need to focus on offense and be great defensively and support them offensively.”
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Chris Graham
