Chris Forsberg tries to make sense of the three-team trade that lands the Celtics Kristaps Porzingis, and sends Marcus Smart to Memphis
The Boston Celtics reportedly were closing in on a three-team trade with the Washington Wizards and Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday that would have sent center Kristaps Porzingis to the C's.
That deal ultimately never materialized, but the Celtics were still able to acquire Porzingis by reportedly working out a three-team trade involving the Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies.
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What led to the original Celtics-Wizards-Clippers deal falling apart?
Well, according to longtime NBA reporter Marc Stein, the Clippers' concerns about Malcolm Brogdon's injury status were the primary reason. Brogdon was reportedly going to be moved to the Clippers as part of that original trade proposal.
More Porzingis trade analysis
The veteran point guard was not involved in the new trade between the Celtics, Wizards and Grizzlies. Does that mean Brogdon will be on the roster for the start of the 2023-24 season?
Not exactly -- he could still be traded at some point in the next few months. But it sounds like his injury is a genuine concern for potential trade partners.
"Brogdon has a health issue," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said Thursday morning on the network's "Get Up!" show. "A health issue that is so significant that as I understand it, that not only can the Celtics not do this trade, there’s probably no Malcolm Brogdon trade that they can do in the short term."
Brogdon partially tore a tendon in his elbow during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat. His performance suffered as a result and he struggled to score and defend at a high level in the series. The 30-year-old guard has been injury prone most of his career, but the 67 games he played for the Celtics in the regular season were his highest total since 2016-17.
When healthy, Brogdon is a very good scorer, evidenced by the fact that he shot 48.4 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from 3-point range and 87 percent from the free throw line last season. He just missed joining the 50-40-90 club. Staying healthy has been difficult for him, though, and it could potentially impact his trade value over the offseason.
