Celtics’ Rival Previously ‘Showed Interest’ In Malcolm Brogdon

Should the Boston Celtics want to push forward and trade Malcolm Brogdon, perhaps a previously-interested suitor would want to acquire the 2023 Sixth Man of the Year.

The Toronto Raptors “showed interest” in Brogdon before the Celtics acquired him from the Indiana Pacers last summer, MassLive’s Brian Robb reported Wednesday while dissecting whether or not Boston could trade for Toronto’s Pascal Siakam.

“Given that the Raptors showed interest in Malcolm Brogdon last year per sources before he was dealt to the Celtics, it’s fair to wonder whether Toronto would still have interest in him or Payton Pritchard in some type of three-team swap with players/assets from another team heading towards Boston and Siakam heading to a third team,” Robb wrote, referencing why Siakam-to-Boston wouldn’t make much sense for the Celtics.

Of course, there has been a lot that transpired since then.

On the Brogdon front, first and foremost is his health as he deals with an elbow issue. The Clippers and Celtics reportedly had a trade in place three weeks ago that would have sent Brogdon to Los Angeles and Kristaps Porzingis to Boston, The Clippers backed out of that agreement, reportedly due to the uncertainty of Brogdon’s health. At the time, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst shared a damning injury report on Brogdon and said it would be difficult for the Celtics to move the veteran guard.

Could all of that have halted Toronto’s interest? It’s certainly possible even with the fact Fred VanVleet departed Toronto in free agency.

But from a Celtics standpoint, Brogdon’s future in Boston currently is unclear. After all, Boston tried to trade the veteran guard a few weeks ago. Brogdon now knows that and it’s fair to assume it could create an awkward relationship moving forward. Even Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens weighed in on that and said the way it played out was hard on Brogdon.

As Celtics fans now know, the Green instead parted with Marcus Smart in a different three-team deal that sent Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies and brought Porzingis to Boston. It’s left the Celtics with one less starting-caliber guard than last year.

Perhaps from both Toronto’s and Boston’s side, a Brogdon deal is now less appealing. Who knows? But the Raptors’ previous interest nevertheless is worth noting, especially if the Celtics now are trying to find a new destination for an unhappy player.