Malcolm Brogdon. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

How Malcolm Brogdon helped build both Eastern Conference finalists

By Sean Keane | Last updated 5/20/24

He hasn’t played since Feb. 2, but Malcolm Brogdon was instrumental in building the Indiana Pacers and the Boston Celtics.

Brogdon was a valuable member of the Celtics last year, winning the Sixth Man of the Year award before an elbow injury limited him in the Celtics’s playoff run. Afterward, Boston tried to include Brogdon in a three-team trade for Kristaps Porzingis, which they ultimately revised to include Marcus Smart instead.

The unhappy Brogdon was then packaged with Robert Williams in a deal for Jrue Holiday, who has been a fantastic addition at point guard for the Celtics. Holiday has steadied the team on offense, shooting a career-high 43 percent from three-point range and finishing sixth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting.

DPOY voting results: pic.twitter.com/uQwz1cz5NS
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) May 7, 2024

Meanwhile, the Pacers turned Brogdon into two starters. They received three-and-D wing Aaron Nesmith in a deal for Brogdon in 2022. He’s started 107 games in the last two seasons and was their most effective defender on Jalen Brunson in their second-round win.

Indiana also got Boston’s first-round pick in 2023 in the Brogdon trade, which they parlayed into the No. 29 pick in the 2024 draft. They used that one in their blockbuster deal for Pascal Siakam, one of three first-rounders heading to the Toronto Raptors.

Siakam has been a difference-maker for the Pacers. He averaged 20 points in the Knicks series, shooting 52.8 percent from the field and averaging only 1.1 turnovers per game.

As for Brogdon, NBA executives believe he’ll be a trade candidate again this summer, heading into the final year of his contract. So, in other words, he might swing the balance of power in the Eastern Conference yet again.

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