In late June, the Celtics were hours away from sending Malcolm Brogdon across the country. The 2023 Sixth Man of the Year was going to be involved in a three-team deal that'd trade him to the Los Angeles Clippers and bring Kristaps Porzingis to Boston. However, Brogdon's recent injury to his shooting arm halted the exchange, and Marcus Smart was dealt instead to the Memphis Grizzlies to acquire Porzingis (and draft picks).

This drastic change shocked the NBA world and Celtics fans especially, and it's easy to see how Brogdon would be frustrated with the whole ordeal as well. The 30-year-old guard had a great season coming off the bench and although injuries hampered his production in the playoffs, Brogdon would still start for most teams. Rather than getting praise for his performance, Brogdon was nearly traded by the C's, and he's reportedly still mad about it, per Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.

“He's angry with the team,” Washburn told Celtics on CLNS. “I don't think communication between [Brogdon and the Celtics] has been fruitful … Malcolm Brogdon was not happy about being potentially dealt. He was pissed.”

After failing to trade Brogdon to the Clippers, Boston ultimately settled on keeping him. This is a bit of a risk given his injury history and potentially disgruntled attitude, yet it doesn't seem like many other teams were willing to take a chance on Brogdon.

Now, the C's will have to hope that Brogdon recovers before the 2023-24 season begins on October 25th. Whether or not that's possible remains to be seen, but first, the Celtics must repair their relationship with the former Rookie of the Year.

Boston doesn't have the guard depth to cast Brogdon aside, as the loss of Smart means Derrick White and Payton Pritchard are arguably the only proven ball handlers on the roster. If the C's can't work it out with Brogdon, they'll be thin at a critical position.