Boston Celtics: HH trade proposal lands Trae Young and John Collins

Last week, the Boston Celtics were officially roped into the Kevin Durant drama with the Woj bomb that revealed that Jaylen Brown was used as the primary piece in President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens’ offer to the Brooklyn Nets front office.

Following Browns’ liking of a tweet saying that ‘Jaylen Brown is so disrespected by Celtics fans,’ this news drop was, to many, a sign that the relationship between Boston and Brown has deteriorated.

On NBC Sports Boston’s Early Edition, Shams Charania poured water on that idea, saying he ‘heard anything about any type of displeasure that he’s had with the organization,’ and that he ‘loves it in Boston’ and is ‘looking forward to coming back.’

Still, Brown’s name being thrown into trade discussions could stick in the back of his mind come 2024 when he hits unrestricted free agency for the first time in his career — especially if Boston’s all-in efforts this past summer to win Banner 18 fall short.

Given WEEI host Jermaine Wiggins’ alleged encounter with Brown in the Hamptons, where he was told by No. 7 personally that the 25-year-old wanted to bolt from the Celtics, perhaps Stevens will need to have uncomfortable conversations with his front office cohorts about shipping off the team’s 1A star.

If those conversations were to happen now, since Durant talks seem to be happening anyway, this trade package with the Atlanta Hawks for their top two stars would be a great way to maximize his value and make the Boston Celtics offense the most dynamic in the league:

Why the Boston Celtics do it

Parting with the team’s second and third most impactful players, plus the team’s sixth man extraordinaire from this past postseason seems like a foolish move for a team with the best 2022-23 NBA Championship odds, but this move is one that gives the team a clear identity.

With Trae Young running the offense, Boston would be the new ‘Lob City’ with John Collins and Robert Williams finishing alley-oops, while Al Horford and Grant Williams would provide an elite second unit big man rotation.

The defense would take a hit along the perimeter, but Malcolm Brogdon’s presence in the backcourt shields Young’s deficiencies. Overall the team would become more balanced and have a flamethrower floor general capable of matching Steph Curry’s impressive hot-streaks from beyond the arc.

Why the Atlanta Hawks do it

In acquiring Dejounte Murray, the Hawks not only acquired a player who plays the same position as their franchise cornerstone, but also gave up an embarrassment of riches to the San Antonio Spurs to nab him.

They could compromise their current core, which made the 2021 Eastern Conference finals but were a first-round also-ran this past April, in order to replenish their draft cupboard and commit to an identity themselves — putting up points on a Murray-Marcus Smart-Jaylen Brown-De’Andre Hunter-Clint Capela lineup would be a difficult ask for any of the NBA’s 29 other franchises. Derrick White and a future first-round pick (lottery-protected) put this over the top on Atlanta’s end.