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The Boston Celtics have finally solved their playmaking issues with the acquisition of Malcolm Brogdon via a July 1 trade with the Indiana Pacers.
The veteran guard is widely considered to be one of the better playmaking guards in the NBA, who can also provide some impactful perimeter defense, rim pressure, and outside scoring.
However, according to Kendrick Perkins, we shouldn’t expect to see the six-foot-five guard operate as the team’s primary ball-handler next season, as that role is still earmarked for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
“I don’t think I love the move for the same reason everybody else loves the move. We keep tossing out ‘true point guard,’ Malcolm Brogdon is one hell of a player, but he’s more of a combo guard. If you think for one second, that the Celtics are going to go into next year, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown aren’t going to be the primary ball-handlers, you’re crazy. This is another piece, that was brought in to complement those guys. At times, can he play the point guard position and orchestrate the offense? Yes, I get that. But stop labeling him as a true point guard, that’s not the case,” Perkins said on a July 1 episode of Inside the NBA on ESPN.
Perkins may have a point, according to Basketball-Reference’s play-by-play stats, which track how much time a player spends at each position, it would seem that Brogdon splits his time between the one and the two. Throughout his career, the Georgia native has spent 44% of his minutes as a point guard, 51% of his minutes as a shooting guard, and 4% as a small forward – which indeed makes him more of a combo guard than a true point guard.
What Brogdon Brings to the Celtics
When healthy, Brogdon is a true three-level scorer, capable of creating his own shot, operating as the ball-handler in the pick-and-roll, or generating offensive opportunities for his teammates. According to Cleaning The Glass, the versatile guard has a 24.1 AST%, meaning almost a quarter of points scored when Brogdon is on the floor come courtesy of an assist or hockey assist.
Brogdon is also a capable scorer across all three levels and finished last season shooting 59% at the rim, 45% from floater range, 43% from the mid-range, and a career-low of 31% from deep, although his limited playing time (35 games) may have impacted his perimeter shooting.
Overall, Brogdon adds size, on-ball versatility, and both on and off-ball playmaking, making him the perfect fit for the Celtics’ needs heading into the new season, although his ability to stay healthy will inevitably be a huge factor in how successful his time in green will be.
Brogdon Excited to be in Boston
Free agency is always a wild time, and it’s easy to forget how this period can affect the players, whose lives can be turned upside down in an instant. Aaron Nesmith and Daniel Theis are probably looking for places to live in Indiana, as is Brogdon in Boston, yet when speaking to The Athletic on July 1, the 29-year-old guard spoke of his excitement in joining a championship contender.
“I’m excited, man. We have a chance to win the championship, so I’m excited to join the family…I had heard that Boston was interested over the past few days, but as a player, you don’t know everything that’s going on… I am very much appreciative of how the Pacers have handled everything,” Brogdon to The Atheltic’s Jared Weiss.
After three seasons with the Pacers, Brogdon is joining a team that fell two games short of defeating the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, and hopefully, his presence on the roster helps the Celtics get over that final hurdle in the coming seasons.
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