The deal would send center Daniel Theis, wing Aaron Nesmith and a 2023 first-round pick to Indiana, Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter). Nik Stauskas, Malik Fitts and Juwan Morgan are also headed to the Pacers in the trade, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter). The Celtics wanted to get a “real playmaking guard,” explains Wojnarowski (via Twitter), and they were able to do so without including any of their core players in the package. Brogdon has often battled injuries during his six-year career, but has been effective on both ends of the floor when healthy. In 2021/22, the 29-year-old averaged 19.1 PPG, 5.9 APG and 5.1 RPG in 36 games (33.5 MPG) for the Pacers. Brogdon’s three-point percentage dropped to 31.2% last season, but he’s still a career 37.6% shooter from beyond the arc. Although Brogdon’s name has come up frequently in trade rumors this offseason, he was primarily linked to the Wizards and Knicks in the weeks leading up to the draft. Washington addressed its point guard void by agreeing to acquire Monte Morris and sign Delon Wright, while New York dealt Jaylen Brunson in free agency. That opened the door for another Eastern Conference club to make a deal with the Pacers. Brogdon will make $67.6 million over the next three seasons, including $22.6 million in 2022/2023. In order to match his salary and make the trade legal, the Celtics would have to include five players in their package — the most expensive of those players, Theis, is making $8.69MM next season, while Nesmith will earn $3.8mm. Stauskas, Fitts and Morgan had non-guaranteed minimum salary contracts that will become guaranteed for matching purposes, ESPN’s Bobby Marks reported on Twitter. The Celtics, who also reportedly agreed to sign Danilo Gallinari, now have about $167.5 million committed to 11 players, according to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg ( Twitter link ), so team ownership doesn’t appear to be is concerned about paying tax in 2022. /23. Depending on how deep into the tax Boston is willing to go, the club could also make use of the $17 million trade exception, which will not be used in this deal. The Pacers, meanwhile, had interest in Grant Williams, per Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer ( Twitter link ), but ultimately were willing to accept a Celtics 2023 first-round pick that could land fairly late in the twenties. Indiana may also see value in Theis and Nesmith, but the deal is more of a first-round pick and would create cap flexibility moving away from Brogdon. In addition to clearing some long-term money, the Pacers now have about $31 million in cap space this summer, Marks reports on Twitter. The two teams will have to wait until July 9 to officially complete the trade, Marks notes (via Twitter), since Morgan cannot be traded until then.
