Celtics trade for Pacers’ Brogdon

Brad Stevens thought the Boston Celtics needed another playmaker and more depth to win their first NBA title since 2007-08.

He may have found both with one big move Friday.

Boston’s president of basketball operations acquired combo guard Malcolm Brogdon from the Indiana Pacers for five players, all backup forwards, and a 2023 firstround pick, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal cannot officially be announced until next week.

Stevens, who grew up in Indianapolis and coached Butler not far from the Pacers home court, accomplished two key goals by getting Brogdon.

“I think the way that teams work together and operate together are fragile,” Stevens said after the Celtics lost to Golden State in the NBA Finals in six games. “And I think your identity as a team, when you find one that’s successful — which we did this year on the defensive end of the floor and when we were at our best sharing the ball offensively — those things are fragile. So just to add (players) doesn’t mean that you’re not taking something away from the group.”

Brogdon appears to be a perfect fit in a backcourt that already features NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White, who played a key role in Boston’s postseason run.

And now they’ve added a leader who averaged 19.1 points, 5.9 assists and 5.1 rebounds last season.

Brogdon’s biggest problem has been staying healthy. Injuries limited him to just 36 games in 2021-22 and the 29-year-old hasn’t played more than 56 games since he joining Indiana in 2019.

Stevens didn’t give up any of his key pieces, either. The Pacers get veteran Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith and Nic Stauskas — former first-round picks — Juwan Morgan and Malik Fitts. In addition to ading Theis’ physical presence, the Pacers also now have $31 million in salary cap room and will have three first-round picks next summer if the Cleveland Cavaliers make the playoffs.

JAZZ TRADE GOBERT TO TIMBERWOLVES

For Utah, one era is ending. For Minnesota, one seems to be beginning.

The Jazz have agreed to trade Rudy Gobert — a three-time defensive player of the year — to the Timberwolves for a massive package of players and draft picks, according to a person with knowledge of the blockbuster deal.

Utah will receive four first-round picks between 2023 and 2029, a first-round pick from this year’s draft in Walker Kessler, along with Patrick Beverley and Malik Beasley, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on Friday on condition of anonymity because the NBA had not approved the deal and neither team could announce it publicly.

ESPN, which first reported the trade, also said Jarred Vanderbilt was going from Minnesota to Utah as part of the deal for Gobert — who now gets paired alongside another elite big man in Karl-Anthony Towns.

Indeed, it is a slew of assets for the Jazz, who made the playoffs in each of the last six seasons and now seem to be resetting in multiple ways. Quin Snyder decided to depart last month after eight years as coach; the Jazz hired Will Hardy, a longtime San Antonio assistant and an assistant for Boston on its run to the Eastern Conference title this past season, to take over on the bench.

LAVINE, NURKIC STAY PUT

Zach LaVine is staying in Chicago. Same goes for Jusuf Nurkic in Portland.

Day 2 of NBA free agency on Friday brought another max deal — this time, going to LaVine, who secured the richest contract in Bulls history when he agreed to a $215 million, five-year contract.

LaVine technically was a free agent, for about 18 hours. Klutch Sports, which represents LaVine, made the announcement of the max agreement, with the Bulls able to offer the Olympic gold medalist and two-time All-Star $56 million more than any other club could this summer.

Nurkic got by far the biggest payday of his career, agreeing to a four-year, $70 million contract with Portland. The center just completed his eighth NBA season, the last six of those coming with the Trail Blazers, for whom he averaged 15 points and 11.1 rebounds this past season.