Some of you guys may have missed the Jared Weiss Athletic article detailing Brogdon's situation leading up to the trade. We talked about it in a previous thread last week that probably should have been merged with this one. He did confirm that Brogdon was upset and preferred to be dealt. Here it is (behind paywall):
https://theathletic.com/4916611/2023/10/01/jrue-holiday-celtics-malcolm-brogdon/Basically, he was unhappy about the aborted trade and while Stevens was trying to smooth things over in case no other trade could be completed, Mazzulla let it slip at the Brown signing presser that White would be the starter. That made things worse because Brogdon felt he at least deserved a shot at competing for the role (my guess is that he already didn't like how Mazzulla was using him and this reinforced in his mind that the coach didn't think he was good enough to have an expanded role). Weiss went on to say that later in the offseason things had calmed down but Brogdon still preferred to be moved.
I think it just comes down to respect and his role. Brogdon's a proud, intelligent guy. He chose the Celtics and willingly took a lesser bench role. He came here for Udoka, not Mazzulla. His weird "all threes and drives" role seemed like he was just doing exactly what Mazzulla wanted and he did it well enough to win a sixth man, but it also meant he wasn't facilitating or being a PG. Then when the season ended, fans and pundits wondered why the team still had a playmaking problem and concluded that Brogdon failed in that respect, never considering the fact that he was never given a chance to actually try. When he actually played with the starters, he was almost always just a spot shooter/floor spacer because of course Tatum and Brown are going to end up controlling the ball. The "injury risk" narrative also started up again after the playoffs, even though he didn't injure his knee which is what everybody was afraid of. In his mind, I'm sure he felt a little scapegoated even though he tried valiantly to play through the injury. Honestly, he shouldn't have even been out there and I at least partially blame Mazzulla for that as well.
Of course, trades are part of the business but I think Brogdon has a right to be a little miffed. He's clearly an intelligent and proud guy. You don't represent the player's union unless you have a strong sense of your own self-worth (note that Brown and Grant also are player's reps). Sometimes fans seem to think players should be happy just to be on a good team, but what if respect is more important to someone like Brogdon?
Honestly, I'm really surprised how fast fans have "circled the wagons" around the organization and Mazzulla. Are we forgetting that he totally got outcoached in the playoffs? That he drove the "3s and drive and kick" philosophy into the ground last season? That, as I mentioned before he had Brogdon playing a very limited role and also didn't protect him in the playoffs? I think Mazzulla will be better, but it doesn't mean I've forgotten how big a disaster he was last year. I mean, people in the crowd were saying he wasn't even coaching during the time outs late in the Heat series (I believe Bill Simmons mentioned this on his pod) and that the players were basically coaching themselves. Why then, is it so hard to believe that similar to Grant, Brogdon might of had some reasons besides the trade to be unhappy?
Even the criticism about his defense could be seen as a little unfair. Yes, his defense and lack of physicality in the playoffs was disappointing. However, from his perspective I'm sure he was thinking, "Dude our entire team defense stunk because Mazzulla kept screaming about shooting 40 3s a game, which is why me and every other team member mentioned a lack of defensive identity at the end of the season." Why shouldn't Brogdon feels a little scapegoated when his bad defense is spotlighted but the team's coaches never made defense an emphasis to begin with?
Lastly, I'm sure he won't be in Portland past the trade deadline. They're saying the right things, but there's no logical reason for him to be there long-term. I'm sure Cronin has assured him that once the right deal has come along (and maybe once he's proved he's healthy), he will be off to a better situation.
