Malcolm Brogdon reportedly on the trade block

Former Virginia Cavaliers’ men’s basketball standout Malcolm Brogdon is reportedly set to be traded in the next couple days per reports. Brogdon has spent his previous three seasons in Indiana, but according to NBA insider and ESPN Reporter Adrian Wojnarowski, Brogdon “has probably played his last game for the Pacers.”

Over these last three years, Brogdon has averaged 18.9 points and 6.3 assists per game as his games has drastically expanded since his time as a purely complementary player with the Milwaukee Bucks.

Unfortunately, injuries have consistently forced him to miss significant portions of time which has docked his value in Indiana as President Kevin Pritchard is looking to build a younger core. That started when Brogdon’s teammate Domantas Sabonis was traded to Sacramento at the trade deadline, while center Myles Turner is also reportedly being shopped by Indiana.

Brogdon’s most likely destinations, according to Wojnarowski, are the Washington Wizards and the New York Knicks. Both are growing squads in the East and could give Brogdon the opportunity to be more featured in their offensive game plans than Indiana. The Pacers, on the other hand, are prepared to make Tyrese Haliburton their primary ball-handler for the foreseeable future. Each of those trades would involve either team’s first round selection as Indiana appear to be trying to package picks to move up in the draft order.

The Sacramento Kings are another possible destination for Brogdon as they sit with the 4th overall pick in the draft while Indiana is down at 6th. With the top four prospects in the draft considered to be far and above better than the rest, Indiana likely has interest in Purdue’s Jaden Ivey while Sacramento may be more focused on simply adding more experience to its core group of players.

Of course, there’s also the small matter of the Los Angeles Lakers. Reportedly, the Lakers tried to ship Russell Westbrook, Talen Horton-Tucker and a 2026 1st Round pick in exchange for Brogdon. Yet, despite that hefty deal, Indiana decline as they continue to look for young talent.

Brogdon has seen increased usage rates throughout his career and move out of town to a franchise like Washington or New York will help retain this trend. Yet, a move to a team focused on winning now like the Lakers could provide him the opportunity to contend for a championship which he hasn’t had the opportunity to do since leaving Milwaukee.

Brogdon currently has three more years under contract, when he will be paid around $22.6 million annually. Expect Brogdon to be on the move by draft night on Thursday.