Boston Celtics: Jaylen Brown should not be traded for James Harden

Rumors dictate that the Boston Celtics could consider dealing Jaylen Brown as part of a trade package to acquire James Harden. Danny Ainge needs to stop having those thoughts now.

While the Boston Celtics looked unimpressive in their two preseason tilts against fellow Atlantic Division foes in Philadelphia and Brooklyn, the Cs are still expected to compete for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference at worst.

That’s why any talk of a James Harden trade is premature if it involves Jaylen Brown. The Houston Rockets have their hands tied here, with their superstar not willing to make things right. Why would Danny Ainge see that and consider trading his second-best player, one that just completed his first 20 point-per-game campaign?

Houston radio personality John Granato started the rumor that the Cs are in the Harden sweepstakes by way of a package headlined by Brown “and more”, while the Toronto Raptors are aiming to get a deal done with Paschal Siakam “and more”. Both packages are intriguing, but Brown would be a more natural fit alongside newcomers John Wall and Christian Wood than Siakam.

It doesn’t matter, though. No iteration of a Harden trade proposal should include Boston’s soon-to-be second-best player. Given the loyalty Ainge has shown to his lottery picks in recent history, it would be jarring to see Harden be the guy that the Cs front office pushes all of their chips to the middle of the table for.

They passed up on the chance to pair Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving and instead saw the Brow team up with LeBron James to win banner #17 out in Los Angeles. They passed on the chance to bring Kawhi Leonard to Beantown, and instead saw him bring the first-ever championship to Toronto.

To pass up on two-way superstars like Davis and Leonard to instead later acquire Harden would be inconsistent thinking by Ainge, and could likely sink the future of the franchise. As Harden continues to lose athleticism as he ages, Brown is moving into the prime athletic years of his existence.

Swapping out his on-court trajectory and off-court leadership for a guy who bent the Rockets franchise over a barrel is not the kind of move Ainge typically makes.

This is all to say: Brown shouldn’t end up in a Harden package this offseason under any circumstances.