The Boston Celtics are not going to trade Jaylen Brown… unless he requests a trade.
Recent rumblings have indicated Brown’s unwillingness to commit to Boston for the long-term. That’s not to say he wouldn’t be open to re-signing in Boston. He’s shown nothing but love to his teammates. But recent articles have shown that he’s opposed to the idea of leaving.
If Brown were to request a trade, thus forcing the Celtics’ hand, one potential proposal that could make sense would be with a division rival – the Brooklyn Nets.
Here’s the outline of the proposal:
Celtics receive: Mikal Bridges, Dorian Finney-Smith, 2023 1st-Round Pick (via PHX), 2025 1st-Round Pick (via PHX)
Nets receive: Brown, Payton Pritchard
To be perfectly clear, there’s a chance the Nets would say no to this. They might prefer to wait things out with Bridges and see how he develops as a primary scoring option. But adding Brown would instantly give them a go-to scorer on a roster filled with capable rotational pieces.
Meanwhile, the Celtics would make the most of a rough situation. They have no need to trade for a million draft picks, which Brown would undoubtedly command on the open market, so this would be a nice middle ground.
They would land Bridges, who could play the wing alongside Jayson Tatum and still be a top scoring option. Finney-Smith would also be a valuable piece, giving them yet another option at the wing.
Again, this sort of trade would never even begin to be thought about unless Brown forced the issue. When asked about his long-term future in Boston, Brown told The Ringer’s Logan Murdock the following:
“I don’t know. As long as I’m needed. It’s not up to me,” he says. “We’ll see how they feel about me over time and I feel about them over time. Hopefully, whatever it is, it makes sense. But I will stay where I’m wanted. I will stay where I’m needed and treated correct.”
So, if he does ask out or make it known that he won’t re-sign, this could be a deal to consider.
Jaylen Brown Sounds Off on Celtics Future
In addition, Brown stated that he doesn’t plan on worrying about the future until it’s absolutely necessary. He prefers to live in the present.
“Some of the greatest players of all time haven’t finished with their organization,” Brown said. “Michael Jordan retired a Wizard. As much as we like it here and enjoy being here, you see where life takes you. You see how the process goes. All you do is really focus on what’s in front of you right now, to be honest. But I don’t really know or want to answer that question because that type of stuff makes Celtics fans speculate and go crazy. Especially right now, I’ll just say we’ll get there when we get there.”
Jaylen Brown Sounds Off After Celtics Beat Kings
In other news, the Celtics took down the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night, and Brown sent a warning to the rest of the NBA after the game.
“That looked like the team I recognize,” Brown told Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston. “We came out, we played 48 minutes, we didn’t take our foot off the gas. We took care of business. [We] ended the road trip well…We’re going into spring, winter is over, so there’s definitely an energy shift on the way, so we just got to take advantage of our opportunities and do what we do best.”