The Boston Celtics had a deal lined up with the Los Angeles Clippers to send Malcolm Brogdon to LA in the original effort to land big man Kristaps Porzingis from Washington.

The Clippers became uninterested in the deal due to not being able to conduct a physical exam with Brogdon prior to trading for him and by the midnight deadline Porzingis had to make on his player option.

Here’s what ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said about why this deal ultimately fell through.

“Brogdon has a health issue, a health issue that as I understand, is so significant, that not only can the Celtics not do this trade, there’s probably no Malcolm Brogdon trade that they can do in the short term.”

It’s worth mentioning that if Brogdon gets a surgery to repair his forearm, he’ll still be ready for the start of the season, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.

Per sources, the Clippers’ reversal on Brogdon was centered on not having time to complete a physical exam.
It’s still unclear whether Brogdon will need surgery on his forearm. But if he does, the belief is that he’d still be ready for the start of next season.

— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) June 22, 2023

This isn’t to say Brogdon wont be traded, it just didn’t work out in terms of timing between the Clippers and Celtics.

As a result, this led to Brad Stevens going to his Plan-B, which was to include Marcus Smart in a trade to Memphis for two first round draft picks.

With a full offseason still to go, let’s see what else Brad Stevens has up his sleeve.

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