WASHINGTON — At one point not too long ago, Malcolm Brogdon made the final call.
Following his third season with the Indiana Pacers, Brogdon was the team’s top scorer, but the arrival of Tyrese Haliburton meant he was not part of the franchise’s future. The Pacers asked him for a short list of trade destinations, and he chose the Boston Celtics because he wanted to win.
Brogdon was NBA Rookie of the Year in 2016-17 with the Milwaukee Bucks and was Sixth Man of the Year in his 2022-23 season with the Celtics. But after his lone season in Boston, he once again found himself on the trading block after an elbow injury ruined his postseason and the team fell just short of making the NBA Finals. The Celtics attempted to trade him to the LA Clippers, but his injury concerns caused that deal to fall apart.
After everything had gone right for most of the season with the Celtics, Brogdon wanted out of Beantown. He was frustrated that the team tried to move him after he came to Boston with the expectation that he would be there long term.
Brogdon was sent to the Portland Trail Blazers just before last season in a deal that brought Jrue Holiday to the Celtics. They went on to win the title, while Brogdon played just 39 games in an injury-riddled season for one of the league’s worst teams. It’s tough being the guy who was cast aside to bring in the final piece to the puzzle, but Brogdon said he’s let go of the frustration.
“Honestly, I’m not even in a position anymore where I even talk about it,” he said in his postgame news conference following the Washington Wizards’ 108-96 loss to the Celtics on Friday. “I made peace with the situation and moved on and I’m in a good place now.”
Then this offseason, he was on the move again. Now, for the third consecutive year, he’s trying to establish himself with a new team. But now he is acclimating to this stage of his NBA life.
He wanted to be somewhere he could put down roots. Unfortunately for Brogdon, that is no longer a reality. He is unwittingly in a journeyman phase of his career.
“I’ve gotten to the point after Portland where I just embrace the situation,” Brogdon said. “That’s all you can do and all you can control. I’ve just embraced being here. They value my leadership, but they also value me playing on the court, which is great.”
When Brogdon arrived in Portland, he switched agencies to sign with Rich Paul at Klutch Sports. He hoped to secure a long-term deal with the Blazers, but they moved him to Washington after an injury-plagued season in exchange for Deni Avdija.
“Coming here, I was actually really excited,” he said. “My wife is from DC; I went to school down the road (at Virginia). It’s been a really good change of scenery coming back to the East Coast.”
He’s had to accept that his role is to foster development and set a culture. When he decided to go to Boston, he chose to take responsibility for leading the franchise to be a part of something bigger and better. Now in Washington, he is one of the few veterans with winning experience.
“I think every year I’m on a rebuilding team, you just learn to be more patient with the young guys,” Brogdon said. “It’s a tough learning curve. They’re drinking through the water hose, so I’m just trying to be patient with them and understand that it’s tough.”
Almost half of the Wizards rotation is still not old enough to get into a bar. Building a coherent and consistent system is going to take time. Brogdon’s adjustment through these past few seasons has been accepting that he has to be even more patient than ever.
“It’s tough coming into the NBA, it’s tough for me,” Brogdon said. “I had some vets that were patient; I had some vets that weren’t. But I want to be one of the vets that’s always patient and wants to teach them the right way.”
The key to showing them the right way is to establish his value on the court. That’s been tough to achieve with his injury history, which is why he made sure to praise the Wizards training staff when describing why he is happy in Washington.
He isn’t fresh off the Sixth Man honor anymore. He has to put up or shut up if he’s going to be a veteran leader.
“You gotta show them by example. You have to come out here and play for them to actually respect you. That’s how it should be,” Brogdon said. “You can’t be a vet that’s just talking, talking, talking, but either sitting on the bench or not playing well.”
Brogdon, who will be 32 next month, will hit free agency this summer. In his career, he has averaged 15.4 points, 4.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game. But the market for the NBA’s middle class keeps changing every year, so who knows what is in store for him.
Brogdon would like to win again, but he knows that isn’t happening now. He’s had to set that goal aside and take solace that he is helping to build something that could be a winning program one day. It’s not what Brogdon envisioned when he first signed off on his trade to the Celtics, but he accepts that these are the cards he was dealt.
Brogdon said he believes in Wizards coach Brian Keefe and likes what the staff is doing to give the litany of young Wizards a sense of direction. Now it’s on Brogdon to go out there and help them slowly go somewhere.
“I know we’re not winning every game,” Brogdon said. “But we’re taking baby steps.”
(Photo of Malcolm Brogdon: Ron Hoskins / NBAE via Getty Images)
