The 2019 NBA free agency was full of surprising moves and unexpected twists. One of those twists was 2017’s NBA Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon deciding to leave Milwaukee Bucks and join Indiana Pacers. As it turns out, however, this wasn’t entirely Brogdon’s decision.
Brogdon returned to Milwaukee on Sunday to face the Bucks with his new team and was asked by reporters to give a bit of insight into his departure. According to the 27-year-old, he would have loved to stay with the franchise that drafted him “if they had wanted him.”
“I would’ve loved to play for this team, if they had wanted me. If they had valued me the way the Pacers value me. That’s all I gotta say,” said Brogdon.
Brogdon was a restricted agent this summer, and Bucks opted against offering him a deal he wanted in order to avoid the luxury tax. He explored different options before landing in Indiana via the sign-and-trade deal.
“I had a pretty good inkling that things may not work out and things may not go in the direction that I thought they were going to go in, so I started to change my mindset and started to identify different teams and prepare myself,” he added.
Malcolm Brogdon is having a great season and is proving to the Milwaukee Bucks that they have made a big mistake. Brogdon is currently one of Pacers’ key players and has career-highs all across the board. In 26 games he played this season, he averages 18.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 7.6 assists per game.
