The Portland Trail Blazers presumably acquired veteran combo guard Malcolm Brogdon as part of its haul from the Boston Celtics for Jrue Holiday to trade him. Now's the time.
Last year Brogdon did, unfortunately, regress from his Sixth Man of the Year iteration to his more injury-prone vintage.
The 6-foot-4 Virginia product appeared in just 39 contests per bout during his first year with the 21-61 Trail Blazers, averaging 15.7 points on a .440/.412/.819 shooting splits, 5.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 0.7 steals a night.
That, in combination with his defense, his age (31), and his expiring $22.5 million salary, should give him some value for clubs looking to take a flyer on bench guard help in 2024-25. To be fair, that might make him more tenable as a trade deadline chip, but it would behoove the Trail Blazers to do their due diligence on the deal.
Here are some prospects:
He'd be a steadying presence on a young, up-and-coming club that, as the first round of the playoffs has shown, is in desperate need of playmaking and shooting help. Brogdon could conceivably even start. Though current starting point guard Markelle Fultz is a better defender, Brogdon is a superior passer and long-range sniper.
Maybe adding an oft-hurt 31-year-old isn't quite what the doctor ordered for an aging, capped-out Bucks club bereft of a ton of tradable assets, but Brogdon's two-way ability and size would honestly make him a candidate to start next to Damian Lillard in the backcourt, a gig that was occupied by first Malik Beasley and then a far-past-his-prime Patrick Beverley in 2023-24. If Brogdon can stay healthy (that's a big "if"),
New Orleans seems liable to make some kind of big overhaul this summer, following another disappointing postseason run. Starting small forward Brandon Ingram and starting point guard CJ McCollum (formerly, of course, the Trail Blazers' tiny starting shooting guard) both could be on the trade block. Brogdon would make more sense as a reserve behind McCollum, presumably in a three-team Ingram deal, than in some kind of McCollum return swap.
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