The Boston Celtics have a plethora of valuable assets in their possession, one of which being Jaylen Brown. Should they ever look to deal him, there are only a handful of deals they might consider.
First, let me start off by saying we are CERTAINLY NOT advocating that the Boston Celtics should be looking into trading Jaylen Brown. After signing a 4-year, $115 million extension last offseason, the wing went on to have himself a truly impressive campaign.
Through 57 games played, the 24-year-old posted career highs all across the board, averaging 20.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game on 48 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from deep.
An arguable All-Star snub, Brown is showing early signs that he could even wind up being considered underpaid in regard to his current contract, which is an ironic turn of events as many around the sports media world believed Danny Ainge and co. had overspent on the, then, third-year pro when he initially signed the dotted line.
So, again, by no means are we suggesting the Cs should look into dealing the young-stud any time soon. That said, it is fun to think about what his trade value could be in the hypothetical scenario that he was being shopped.
Recently, former NBA big man Channing Frye suggested that packaging together the likes of Brown and Marcus Smart would be enough to pry Trailblazers shooting guard, CJ McCollum, away from Portland.
Of course, we at the Houdini considered this notion to be a complete farce, as a deal SOLELY involving Jaylen Brown for McCollum straight up would be a disgrace of a deal for the Celtics, yet Frye went on to say that this AND Smart would be the only package worthy of the 29-year-old’s talents.
After the venom that was circulating through our veins cleared out, we got to thinking: if Boston actually did look into dealing their versatile wing, what potential return players would the Celtics consider worthy of being targeted?
Frankly, there are really only 3 individuals that we believe the Cs could view as worthy of trading Jaylen Brown for.
Read on to see who they are:
Player worth trading Jaylen Brown for No. 1) Kawhi Leonard
The idea of the Boston Celtics trading Jaylen Brown for Kawhi Leonard is actually nothing new.
A while back, Bleacher Report wrote an article entitled Absurd NBA Trade Offers for Every Team’s Most Untouchable Star and, in it, deemed a trade involving Brown, Robert Williams III, Romeo Langford, and the number 14 pick in this upcoming draft the trade that could be enough to land the 2x NBA Finals MVP.
Frankly, a deal like this could prove to be solid for both parties, especially if the Los Angeles Clippers believe Leonard to be a flight risk should they underperform yet again.
In the article, writer Zach Buckley went into further detail as to why acquiring Brown could be beneficial for LA:
"Brown has made a leap since then and merited All-Star consideration this season. He’s still a weight class or two behind Leonard, but he remains a solid centerpiece in a theoretical Leonard trade. If the Clippers think their formula is flawed—they blew a 3-1 lead in the conference semifinals and could lose Leonard or Paul George to free agency next offseason—this would bring back multiple building blocks, plus a lottery pick."
In turn, the Boston Celtics would finally land Leonard, who was linked to the team two years ago when he forced his way out of San Antonio before ultimately being traded to the Toronto Raptors.
Adding the superstar to a core already consisting of All-Stars Jayson Tatum & Kemba Walker and the Swiss Army man, Marcus Smart, would be an unbelievable scenario, as it would easily make Boston the favorites to take the Eastern Conference crown and, with that, would likely make them overall NBA title favorites.
Player worth trading Jaylen Brown for No. 2) Karl-Anthony Towns
The second player on the docket is Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star center, Karl-Anthony Towns. After playing five years in the NBA, the 25-year-old has managed to establish himself as one of the best young talents currently in the league, and only appears to be getting better as the years pass on.
In 2019-20, KAT yet again put up impressive numbers all across the board. In just under 34 minutes a night, the 6-11, 248-pound big averaged 26.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.2 blocks per game on 51 percent shooting from the floor and 41 percent shooting from 3-point range.
Considering their evident need for an upgrade at the pivot, should the Boston Celtics ship off Jaylen Brown it would likely be for a top-tier center.
Towns is exactly that.
A 2x All-Star, an All-NBA selection, and a dominant rebounder & scorer, having the young big man being a part of a lineup consisting of Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker would easily help formulate the best big-3 in the entire NBA, let alone the Eastern Conference and, most likely, would better position themselves for their first Finals appearance in over a decade.
Player worth trading Jaylen Brown for No. 3) James Harden
Last, but certainly not least, we see James Harden as one of the only players the Boston Celtics could consider trading Jaylen Brown for.
Heck, with rumors rumbling of trouble in paradise between “The Beard” and the Houston Rockets, this idea may not actually be as far-fetched as some may have previously thought. In fact, even recently ESPN came out with a statement saying that if Harden requested a trade, the shamrocks could prove to have one of the best return packages for him.
As we all are well aware, the 30-year-old is one of the only true superstars in the league today. This short-list includes the likes of LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant (when healthy), Stephen Curry (when healthy), Anthony Davis, and Harden.
That’s it!
With this in mind, if the Cs see an opportunity to bring on such a player, they should inquire about his availability, no?
The 8x All-Star, 7x All-NBA selection, and 2017-18 league MVP is coming off yet another fantastic campaign, as he put up unbelievable averages of 34.3 points, 7.5 assists, 6.6 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game on 44 percent shooting from the floor and 36 percent shooting from deep.
Adding him to this Cs team that was a mere two games away from reaching this year’s NBA Finals would be absolutely menacing. Bring on the fact that in a scenario where they could also package together Kemba Walker’s deal — fear of injury woes continue to ramp up — and perhaps they could get sound role-players such as Robert Covington and P.J. Tucker back in return alongside Harden.
It’s a stretch to trade Brown for the former MVP, and not recommended as far as the Houdini’s concerned, but a player like Harden will obviously require a large haul in return and, for what it’s worth, teams tend to love acquiring all the star power they possibly can.
If the Boston Celtics were interested in trading for the man’s services, a player like Jaylen Brown would need to be the “meat” of any sort of exchange.
To bring this full circle, we do NOT want Brown to be dealt. That said, these 3 players are likely the only ones that Boston would consider targeting in such a trade.