In Boston, the offseason turned out to be quite eventful. Between overtime, departures and big arrivals, the Celtics experienced some upheavals notable. At the dawn of the start of the season, a star of the squad would be unhappy with his situation…
Being eliminated by Miami at the gates of the Finals and during a Game 7 played at TD Garden did not really please Massachusetts. After this terrible humiliation, the Celtics leaders inevitably questioned their squad and ended up making big changes during the offseason. In all of this, the biggest surprise was the departure of legendary leader Marcus Smart towards Memphis.
In terms of the backcourt, however, Boston seemed rather well supplied and it was therefore in the interior sector that the work looked significant. In addition to Robert Williams III and Al Horford, the team will now be able to count on Kristaps Porzingis, who arrived as a free agent. The Latvian is coming off a big season with the Wizards and is truly a flagship recruit in his new franchise…
A star unhappy with his situation in Boston!
What marked the Celtics’ summer was above all the historic extension of Jaylen Brown. Holder of a record contract, the fullback came to brush aside all the trade rumors about him and we have to believe that some of his teammates would have liked to find themselves in such a situation. Gary Washburn of Boston Globe recently declared that Malcolm Brogdon was not satisfied with the handling of his case:
He’s pissed at the franchise. I don’t think the discussions between Malcolm Brogdon and the Celtics were really very fruitful. (…) The player was not happy to be one of the potentially exchangeable players. He was even very angry.
Once announced as a future Clipper at the start of the offseason, Brogdon was finally kept by his superiors… but he doesn’t digest it.
Voted 6th Man of the Year last season, the leader is coming off a great season. In addition to his average of 14.9 points per game coming off the bench, he above all displayed indecent success, he who scored 44.4% of his 3-point shots, better than a certain Stephen Curry. To replace Marcus Smart, it therefore appeared to be an obvious solution. However, Joe Mazzulla seems to grant his favors to another.
Last year, Derrick White tended to be favored by his coach to take charge of the lead in the absence of Smart. His various interim positions had also proven to be rather satisfactory, which therefore forced Brogdon to confine himself to his role as leader of the second unit. It remains to be seen whether the latter’s dissatisfaction will pollute the start of the C’s season, or even lead to an exchange.
After several big moves this summer, the Celtics seem to have found a backbone to start the season. However, Malcolm Brogdon remains bitter following the negotiations concerning him and will have to be quickly reassured by his leaders…
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