Boston Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon was oh so close to becoming a member of the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night, before the proposed three-team deal including the Washington Wizards collapsed at the final hurdle.
As reported by NBA Insider Marc Stein, the Clippers' concerns over Brogdon's injury status ultimately killed the deal, forcing the Celtics to pivot into another three-team deal to bring Kristaps Porzingis to Boston.
Reporting with the great Zubrin Mehenti for @SportsCenter on the collapse of the Wizards/Celtics/Clippers trade talks pic.twitter.com/Y9GgGOl7AK
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 22, 2023
Late Wednesday night, the Celtics instead completed a deal to send Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Marcus Smart, Kristaps Porzingis trade details
Celtics receive:
- Kristaps Porzingis
- 2023 first-round pick (No. 25)
- 2024 first-round pick
Grizzlies receive:
- Marcus Smart
Wizards receive:
- Tyus Jones
- Danilo Gallinari
- Mike Muscala
- 2023 second-round pick (No. 35)
MORE: How Malcolm Brogdon injury concerns led Celtics to trade Marcus Smart in Kristaps Porzingis deal
Coming off a Sixth Man of the Year winning season, Brogdon was hampered during their playoff run, suffering an elbow injury in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat.
What is Malcolm Brogdon's injury?
On the eve of Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Malcolm Brogdon was ruled out after it was revealed he was dealing with a "partial tear in the tendon coming out of his right elbow," according to a report from The Athletic.
After the Celtics' Game 7 loss, Brogdon confirmed the report, saying the he was considering having surgery in the offseason.
“What was reported was correct,” Brogdon said.
“It’s a partial tear of a tendon, I don’t know the name of the tendon but it’s coming out of my elbow. Unfortunately, you use it a lot to shoot. So, when I’m shooting, I’m having a lot of pain.”
After experiencing some elbow soreness in the second round against the Philadelphia 76ers, Brogdon exacerbated the injury in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, tearing the tendon as he attempted to box out Heat forward Kevin Love.
Brogdon played through the injury, appearing in six of the seven games games, however he was limited to a combined 15 minutes over the final three games of the series.
After scoring 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting in Game 1, his shooting was clearly affected from that point on, going just 5-of-23 for the rest of the series.
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Malcolm Brogdon injuries, missed games 2022-23
In total, Brogdon missed 15 of the Celtics' 82 regular season game.
May 27, 2023: Brogdon ruled out for Game 6 vs. Heat
The Sixth Man of the Year played in all of the Celtics' 18 playoff games, before being ruled out of their Game 6 matchup against the Miami Heat due to the partial tear in the tendon of his right elbow.
April 7, 2023: Brogdon misses final two games of regular season
Brogdon was rested for the Celtics' final two games of the season against the Raptors and Hawks due to lower back pain.
March 24, 2023: Brogdon ruled out vs. Pacers
Shortly before tip-off against his former team, Brogdon was on the injury report again, ruled out against his former team due to lower back pain. He would return to the lineup for their next game agains the San Antonio Spurs.
March 17, 20023: Brogdon sits vs. Portland
Brogdon was back on the injury report for one game, missing the Celtics' road win over the Portland Trail Blazers due to right Achilles soreness.
March 6, 2023: Brogdon returns to lineup after two-game absence
Brogdon missed two games in March against the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks due to right ankle soreness.
He returned to the lineup for their road game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, recording 24 points, five assists, and four rebounds in a loss.
MORE: Full details of Marcus Smart trade between Celtics, Wizards, & Grizzlies
February 12, 2023: Brogdon sidelined vs. Grizzlies
After sitting out the fourth quarter of Boston’s February 10 win over the Hornets, Brogdon missed their next game against the Grizzlies due to right Achilles soreness.
January 23, 2023: Brogdon misses two games
Brogdon was out of the Celtics lineup for two games against the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat due to personal reasons.
December 29, 2022: Brogdon out vs. Clippers
Brodgon missed his fifth game of the season, sitting out against the Los Angeles Clippers due to illness.
December 5, 2022: Brogdon sits out against Raptors
Brogdon was sidelined for one game against the Raptors, due to a non-COVID illness.
November 16, 2022: Brogdon misses fourth-straight game with hamstring injury.
In their November 11 game against the Detroit Pistons, Brogdon played just 14 minutes due to hamstring tightness, missing the next four games — his longest absence of the season.
Malcolm Brogdon stats 2022-23
Regular season
- 67 games played
- 14.9 points per game
- 3.7 assists per game
- 4.2 rebounds per game
- 0.7 steals per game
- 26 minutes per game
- 48.4 percent shooting
- 44.4 percent 3-point shooting
- 87.0 percent free throw shooting
Playoffs
- 19 games played
- 11.9 points per game
- 2.9 assists per game
- 3.5 rebounds per game
- 0.2 steals per game
- 24.9 minutes per game
- 41.8 percent shooting
- 37.9 percent 3-point shooting
- 82.9 percent free throw shooting