Injury Issues Cast Doubt over Malcolm Brogdon’s Celtics Role: Executive

Part of the reason the Boston Celtics were able to acquire Malcolm Brogdon for such a minimal return is due to his worrying injury history.

The impressive guard only participated in 36 regular-season games last season and has played in more than 60 contests just twice in his six-year NBA career. As such, Brogdon isn’t the sort of player you can build your team around, because there’s no telling when his next layoff might occur.

Perhaps that’s why an Eastern Conference executive, who spoke to Heavy.com under the condition of anonymity, is so steadfast in their belief that Brogdon will be utilized as an impact player, rather than a focal point of Boston’s rotation.

“The knock against him coming out of college is that he had terrible knees…I mean, some of the examinations were really suspect in terms of how long his lower body would be able to take NBA pounding. So that’s why he ended up going in the second round because he was damn near red-flagged.

So the fact of the matter is he’s probably better off coming off the bench with limited minutes, trying to be impactful in 18 rather than trying to play 30 and always being injured. The question becomes how he’ll accept that,” The executive told Heavy.com’s Steve Bulpett.

When healthy, Brogdon is arguably the third-best player on the Celtics roster, behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, but his inability to remain available throughout the season might give the Celtics food for thought as they construct their rotations heading into next season.

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Rival Executive Believes ‘Less is More’ For Brogdon

Heading into the off-season, the Celtics were clearly looking to improve their second unit’s playmaking after watching the offense stagnate when Brown or Tatum wasn’t on the floor. Brogdon’s additional quickly resolves that need – if he can remain available for selection.

As such, an opposing team executive, who also spoke to Heavy.com under the condition of anonymity, noted how Brogdon could be best served by operating in a vastly reduced role, with the hope that limited minutes could help sustain his health throughout a full NBA season.

“He doesn’t have to be a big star there — a major minutes guy — to make a big impact. Malcolm Brogdon at his best, if they can keep him on the floor, can make a huge difference in that rotation.

You know how good Boston’s starters are, so what happens if they can go to the bench and keep the hammer down? Who’s going to be able to keep up with that kind of depth if they lose that stupid one-on-one, stagnant s— and play the right way? If they’d done that consistently against the Golden State Warriors, they’d be getting rings,” The executive told Bulpett.

With two separate executives sharing similar opinion’s on the former Indiana Pacers guard, it’s clear there is a common consensus among the league that Brogdon can be an impactful player for Boston – if Ime Udoka and his coaching staff manage the situation correctly.

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Brogdon’s Arrival Improves the Celtics

Despite his injury issues, Brogdon is a clear talent improvement for the Celtics, especially as a backup ball-handler and pick-and-roll orchestrator. According to Instat’s tracking data, Brogdon took 240 shots when operating as the PnR Ball Handler last season, 38.8% of them came at the rim (93 attempts) – he converted at a 44% clip.

The six-foot-five guard is also a talented slasher who has a shift burst of pace and consistently gets to the rim. All of these attributes fit into Ime Udoka’s offensive system, and given Brogdon’s playmaking ability, we could see some of the team’s sharpshooters getting some high-quality looks courtesy of drive-and-kick opportunities.

A potential guard rotation of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown (who spends most of his time as a shooting guard), Derrick White, Malcolm Brogdon, and Payton Pritchard is an incredibly deep rotation that could rival any team in the league, and provide some of the best perimeter defense – which continues to adhere to the current vision Udoka and Stevens have for the team.

Still, until we see Brogdon take to the floor, and consistently produce without missing time, we shouldn’t expect him to be anything more than a highly impactful role player.

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