Malcolm Brogdon joined the Boston Celtics in a highly regarded trade from the Indiana Pacers this off-season, but there was another team he considered: the Toronto Raptors.
When it became clear Indiana was moving on from Brogdon, the Pacers approached the point guard with some teams that were interested.
"We knew there was Boston, we knew Toronto, we knew (Washington Wizards),” Brogdon told Sirius XM Radio this week.
“(Washington) really fell off after the draft, because they were thinking about trading that 10th pick for me. Then Toronto and Boston popped up, and we had a choice to pursue — there wasn’t an offer on the table yet from either of them — but the Pacers came to me and said 'look we could pursue either of them, which one would I rather pursue?' I choose Boston."
And why's that?
"I thought this team was farther along," Brogdon said. "They have a superstar in Jayson Tatum and probably another superstar in Jaylen Brown as well. I thought it would be a great fit for me because I wanted to win right now."
In other words, Brogdon has higher aspirations than the Raptors.
The Celtics made it all the way to the NBA Finals last season, while the Raptors were knocked out in the first round after finishing fifth in the East. Toronto takes on Boston to wrap up pre-season Friday night in Montreal.
Brogdon is expected to take on the sixth-man role for Boston, starting behind Marcus Smart at the point guard position.
The 29-year-old saw a slight dip in production and efficiency last season, but still averaged 19.1 points and 5.6 assists shooting 45 per cent from the field. The Celtics are getting a major boost with his acquisition, which cost them Daniel Theis, Aaron Nesmith, Malik Fitts, Juwan Morgan, Nik Stauskas and a 2023 first-round draft choice.
The Raptors, meanwhile, depended on starting point guard Fred VanVleet to play heavy minutes last season due to a lack of quality options off the bench. Toronto did not add a point guard this off-season, but will hope for significant improvements from 2020 first-rounder Malachi Flynn or Rexdale, Ont.'s Dalano Banton.
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