Malcolm Brogdon on time with Pacers: 'Sometimes it just doesn't work'

INDIANAPOLIS -- Some time before the 2022 draft, Malcolm Brogdon met with the Pacers' brass and the two sides determined that they needed to go in another direction.

The Pacers had acquired a new point guard in Tyrese Haliburton in February and building around him would be a lot more difficult if they had to pay Brogdon the $22.6 million he was owed for the 2022-23 season. The 30-year-old Brogdon was willing to come off the bench, but there was certainly more appeal to doing so at his age for a team that had championship aspirations rather than one that needed to rebuild.

The Pacers took Brogdon's suggestions on where he'd like to be traded, with the Boston Celtics were high on his list. He was moved in July for forward Aaron Nesmith, center Daniel Theis (among others) and a 2023 first-round pick. Brogdon now he returns to Indiana for the first time for Thursday's 7 p.m. game against the Pacers pleased with the way things worked out.

"When I knew they were interested, this was a place I pushed for," Brogdon said at the Celtics' shootaround on Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. "We sort of came to a mutual decision and found it best. Boston was one of the teams. I knew they were a team that got to the Finals last year and I thought it would be a good fit."

So far it certainly has been. After starting every game he appeared in over three seasons with the Pacers, Brogdon has not started a game for the Celtics, but he's having one of the most efficient seasons in his career as the leader of Boston's second unit. His minutes have fallen from 33.5 per game with the Pacers' last season to 25.3, but he's still averaging 14.7 points and 3.7 assists. He's shooting 48.2% from the floor, better than he ever shot in Indiana, and a career-best 45.5% from 3-point range for a career best effective field goal percentage of .578.

Coming out of the All-Star break, the Celtics have the best record in the NBA at 42-17, 1/2 game up on the Milwaukee Bucks for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. Brogdon's performance has put him among the frontrunners for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award, a race that also includes Indiana's Bennedict Mathurin.

"Malcolm's an unbelievable player," said Celtics guard Payton Pritchard, who shares the second-unit backcourt with Brogdon. "I think he should be Sixth Man of the Year. ... It's his mentality, getting in the paint, score, make plays. Do whatever's asked. He can really score and he's shooting the ball really well."

Coming off the bench has been an adjustment because it's been so long since Brogdon has had to. He never started fewer than 20 games in any of his first six NBA seasons. He was a part-time starter in his first two seasons in the NBA with the Bucks and then started every game for them in the 2018-19 season on a team that reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

It's an adjustment to go back to the bench as such an established player, but it's easier to do that on a team with a legitimate shot at an NBA title.

"It's definitely been an adjustment but I think it's been for the better," Brogdon said. "I told Boston when I got here I wanted to win and I'd do anything and sacrifice to win. I'm coming off the bench, taking a different role and embracing it and we're winning. ... Coming off the bench, you get to see how the game is being played, get a feel for the game, figure out what your team is missing and what they need more of. As a bench guy, that's something that's new to me, but it's something I've figured out in terms of being able to step in the game and fill a role in whatever we're lacking that night."

Though the Celtics are winning much more consistently than the Pacers did in his time in Indiana, Brogdon said he will always cherish his time in Indianapolis, especially because of the ways he was able to contribute to the city off the court. The former Virginia star always took an interest in community work and was very involved in Milwaukee, but wasn't nearly as established in his first three years as he was when he arrived in Indiana at 27.

"I did a lot of work with my foundation and the Indianapolis Public School system," Brogdon said. "A lot of interactions with the kids, helping them get better educational opportunities, just spending time with them and being out in the community. That's one of my best memories here."

He had some impact for the Pacers as well, but not as much as he or they had hoped. He averaged 18.9 points and 6.3 assists per game in three seasons, but never played more than 56 games in a season and played just 36 last year. The Pacers went 45-28 in his first year and earned the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, but were swept by eventual conference champion Miami Heat in the bubble in 2020. In 2020-21, they reached the play-in round, but lost the second game, and last year they finished 25-57.

Brogdon, of course, wasn't the only injured player. Victor Oladipo ruptured his quadriceps in 2018-19, missed most of Brodgon's first year with the Pacers and was never the same. Center Myles Turner was limited by several injuries as were others. And in three years in Indiana, Brogdon played for three head coaches -- Nate McMillan, Nate Bjorkgren and Rick Carlisle.

"Things happened," Brogdon said. "We never really got healthy. That was the common theme of the three years. And we had some turnover. But there's nothing I can specifically put my finger on. We had a good roster all three years. Sometimes it just doesn't work."

But Brogdon is impressed with what the Pacers are building now that he's moved on, especially with Haliburton as the centerpiece.

"They play faster," Brogdon said. "When I was here, we had two bigs in the lineup. We played a more methodical, half-court game. They're a faster, more exciting team to be honest. They have an All-Star in Haliburton who is playing at a very high level. I think over the coming years as those guys get older and more mature, they're gonna be good."

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pacers vs. Celtics: Malcolm Brogdon returns to Indy