WASHINGTON — The Celtics traded Malcolm Brogdon 418 days ago. Yet Friday marked the first meeting against his former Boston team where he played, and unanswered questions remained. Did he feel wronged? What happened through two constructions of a trade that reportedly left him frustrated at the time?
Brogdon addressed them for the first time, with plenty of space, thought and another trade forming since then. The saga sat far in the rear view as he calmly watched the Celtics’ previous game against Cleveland before the Wizards hosted Boston.
Brogdon missed both Portland games against the Celtics last year before injuring his hand this preseason after Washington acquired him in the Deni Avdija trade. That made a different milestone more important, Friday marking only his third game with his new team as he adjusts to another rebuilding environment. Revenge didn’t look as much on his mind as settling into a new leadership role.
He looked refreshed and effective playing in it, scoring 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting and grabbing 10 rebounds while the Wizards played the Celtics even (+0) in his 26 minutes. Boston pulled away late, 108-96, after Washington led by 11 points earlier in the game. Head coach Brian Keefe had called out his team after a 28-point loss to the Knicks earlier in the week and sounded satisfied with how they pushed the champs with Brogdon moving into the starting lineup over rookie Bub Carrington.
“Guys get traded every year,” Brogdon said, looking back at the trade from Boston to Portland last fall. “I think for teams, a lot of the time, it’s not personal, it’s a business decision. For players, it is personal. You’re uprooting your family at the end of the day. You’re moving to a new city. You’re having to adjust to a new situation, but honestly, it was a good trade for them and we’ll both be good in the long run. I’m not even in a position where I even talk about it. I’ve made peace with the situation and moved on. I’m in a good place now.”
Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum both started Friday night 2-of-7 and missed their first three attempts from deep into the second quarter, opening a door for Washington to compete. Brogdon had hit a pull-up two, stole the ball from Brown and finished in transition before hitting a half court layup early before pouring in a third-chance put back on his own misses inside, a three and another layup to score 11 points in 11 minutes. He added to a team Joe Mazzulla considered fast and underrated after a similarly competitive October game.
The Wizards’ built a 17-point advantage early during Derrick White and Brown’s minutes, obliterating Boston with Tatum off the floor on the boards and through forcing turnovers. Meanwhile, Brogdon’s impact resembled what led him to a sixth man of the year victory in 2023. Brogdon and White shared smiles at one point matched up against each other.
“It’s definitely a mindset shift,” Brogdon said. “You go from a championship-caliber team to a team that’s trying to rebuild the right way in Portland and a team in Washington that’s trying to retool and build it the right way. For me, it’s just about leading and being myself in these situations, and keeping my game sharp. That’s what I can control … you play with the cards you’re dealt … things change for every player at some point in their career. For me, it’s changed a few times over the past couple of years, but for me, it’s embracing the situation that you’re in … I’m enjoying it … we got great young players here that are showing a lot of promise.”
Washington built an 11-point lead midway through the second before Kornet grabbed a Tatum miss and fed Brown for the second of two threes in the second. That cut the Wizards’ lead to seven on the way to a 13-0 Boston run mostly powered by Brown, who hit game-tying free throws and a go-ahead floater to take a 47-45 lead after Kornet flushed a lob from Jrue Holiday. Tatum and Brown, however, missed back-to-back threes before halftime, the latter allowing Brogdon to follow Kyshawn George’s miss in transition for go-ahead free throws. Brogdon stole a lead after scoring 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting to that point.
Kornet stuffed Brogdon minutes into a back-and-forth third quarter, the Celtics flipping their center rotation after Queta’s slow start and Kornet’s energy infusion. Tatum’s struggles continued through an 0-for-8 start capped by an air ball, while Alex Sarr and Kyle Kuzma beat the Celtics up the court to the basket several times. Boston tried to turn up the heat on the offensive glass, while Brown’s attempt to draw contact in the lane drew no call in a 63-63 game. Kuzma hit a three on the other end to take another lead while assistant coach Tony Dobbins restrained Mazzulla, who drew a tech going at the officials. Mazzulla later said it manipulated the environment, waking up the crowd of mostly Celtics fans.
Brown kept attacking, recovering a third-chance foul call and hitting a turnaround mid-ranger to take a 74-70 lead. Xavier Tillman Sr. entered with his first rotation minutes since October next to Queta into Boston’s second unit, blocking Jordan Poole and Jonas Valanciunas, who nearly committed a flagrant foul hitting Queta’s face. Mazzulla waved for Queta to stay down as he rose, looking for a review that came anyway, but was unsuccessful. Boston built a 75-70 lead anyway on his free throw for the bonus foul that lasted into the fourth after the sides traded seven leads through three quarters.
“That’s the best team in the league right now,” Brogdon said. “The way they closed the game, they showed it.”
Brogdon returned form his longer layoff in the third, missing his first two shots at the beginning of the frame and dropping a steal that landed back in White’s hand for a 80-76 Boston lead. Brogdon worked Washington back within a basket to reach 7-of-12 shooting before White hit a three over him to keep Boston ahead by five. Tatum secured a seven-point advantage with a pull-up two moments later. He remained stuck at 0-for-10 from behind the line, the most attempts he’s ever taken without a make from deep.
Keefe and Brogdon got the Celtics where they wanted them late, attempting tough two-pointers that Keefe said Boston doesn’t want to take. Lining up Brogdon, Brown and Tatum buried theirs, securing victory before running up the score late for NBA Cup purposes. Washington fouled, trying to extend the game to take their own lessons away from it. That left both teams, and Brogdon, feeling satisfied with what they got out of his revenge night.
“That’s family,” Brown said. “A lot of those guys we were in the trenches with, a lot of adversity just maneuvering through different seasons. It’s just great to be able to see them, know their family is doing well, know that their mind is in a good place or they’re in good spirits. Obviously, we all know it’s a business, things happen, they move on and I think that’s part of it, but just to know they’re doing well outside of basketball … is really all you can do.”
