The Boston Celtics are reportedly taking calls on star guard Jaylen Brown after his name was involved in Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks.
Obviously, Antetokounmpo is headed to Miami, and the Celtics are left to pick up the pieces. This is not the first time the Celtics have made Brown available in trade talks, and the fact that they reconciled in the past is a good sign for Celtics fans. However, unlike in the past, Brad Stevens left the door open to trade Brown.
“Jaylen Brown is a big part of us,” Stevens said. “I’m never going to predict the future, but … the one thing I want to make very clear is how valued he’s always been. He’s been amazing. He’s been an amazing teammate. Great person to be around. Whether that run ends 10 years from now when he retires or before, there’s a lot to celebrate. We have a great relationship and an open relationship where we talk about everything. But I don’t want to predict the future. But I look at it as, ‘This is our team.’”
The Celtics have reportedly asked for as many as four first-round picks from teams when discussing Brown, and reportedly wanted the Minnesota Timberwolves to give up Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and a similar pick compensation that the Charlotte Hornets got for LaMelo Ball, in exchange for Brown.
The Celtics have a long way to go before the trade saga with Brown ends, and in that time, they will likely receive plenty of interesting offers. However, NBA insider Brett Siegel noted that if Brown is moved, it will not be in a sign-and-trade.
“Even so, the Celtics have continued to receive trade calls centered around Brown both before and since the NBA Draft,” Siegel wrote on Friday. “If the Celtics are to deal him this summer, it would not be in any sign-and-trade scenario with another team that has a free agent to offer, sources said.”
Losing Brown would be a huge blow for the Celtics, but they do not seem likely to trade him if they cannot get a massive return. They have only ever tried trading him when the return would net them an elite player. The two times he has reportedly been available were this summer in Antetokounmpo talks and in 2022 for Kevin Durant.
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