Celtics Notes: Brogdon, Williams, Brown, Champagnie

The Celtics are turning away trade inquiries on Malcolm Brogdon, according to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. A source from a rival organization told Bulpett that his club wasn’t able to make any progress when it called Boston about Brogdon.

“They said he’s a valued member of their team, and that’s where it ended,” the team official said. “I don’t know if that changes down the line, but we didn’t get anywhere. And I’m pretty sure we aren’t the only team that got that response.”

Brogdon captured Sixth Man of the Year honors in his first season with the Celtics, but they were willing to consider sending him to the Clippers in an early version of the Kristaps Porzingis trade. L.A. pulled out of the deal because of medical concerns over Brogdon, who suffered a right elbow and forearm injury in the conference finals, so the Boston traded Marcus Smart to Memphis instead. With Smart gone, Celtics officials are less willing to part with another important part of their backcourt.

“They didn’t want to move him in the first place,” another source said to Bulpett. “They really like Malcolm. But they had to balance out their roster. They didn’t want to go into another season having to rely so heavily on (Robert) Williams and (Al) Horford. They had a bit of a logjam in the backcourt, and they really needed some insurance up front.”

There’s more from Boston:

  • Williams is working to expand his offensive game this summer, and the Celtics want him to be more aggressive about seeking his own shots, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. After missing 47 games last season, Williams is following a program designed by the team’s director of rehabilitation to give him a better chance at staying on the court.
  • The Celtics are expected to resume contract talks next week with Jaylen Brown, who recently returned from an NBPA retreat in Spain, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens expressed optimism about working out an extension with Brown, who is eligible for a five-year super-max contract worth an estimated $295MM, but negotiations have been on hold while Brown, a union vice president, was out of the country.
  • Stevens faces an upcoming decision involving Justin Champagnie, who has a $50K guarantee on his contract if he remains on the roster through August 1, notes Brian Robb of MassLive. That guarantee increases to $350K on opening night, and Robb points out that either figure will cost the team much more due to luxury tax penalties.
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