Making power moves Celtics trade for Brogdon, bolster backcourt

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

Paul Sancya / Associated Press The Celtics traded for Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon on Friday to help bolster their backcourt.