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Tim BontempsESPN
The Boston Celtics landed a playmaking point guard, acquiring Malcolm Brogdon in a trade with the Indiana Pacers on Friday, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Pacers are getting a 2023 first-round pick and five players from the Celtics in return, including center Daniel Theis and 2021 first-round pick Aaron Nesmith, sources told Wojnarowski.
The deal delivers the Celtics the kind of playmaking that President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens and coach Ime Udoka believed they needed to elevate as a championship contender.
Brogdon, 29, averaged 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.9 assists in 33 games for the Pacers last season, as Boston — the reigning Eastern Conference champions — adds a significant piece in its hopes to make another run to the NBA Finals next season.
In addition to Brogdon, sources told Wojnarowski earlier Friday that once Danilo Gallinari is released and clears waivers, he’s expected to agree to a one-year deal to go to Boston, as well.
Indiana, meanwhile, continues to realign its roster around its young backcourt of Tyrese Haliburton, who the Pacers acquired at last season’s trade deadline in a deal for Domantas Sabonis with the Sacramento Kings, and rookie Bennedict Mathurin, the sixth overall selection in last week’s NBA draft.
Theis averaged 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds in 47 games between Houston and Boston last season, while Nesmith, a first round pick in 2020, averaged 3.8 points in 52 games.
The contracts of Fitts, Stauskas and Morgan will all need to be guaranteed in order to make the deal work under the rules of the NBA’s salary cap.
Brogdon also was reelected in March to a three-year term as a vice president on the NBA Players Association’s Executive Committee.