Source on Jaylen Brown: ‘I think he’s all-in’ on Boston Celtics long-term

Boston Celtics fans hoping Kevin Durant goes away (to another team) and that the team’s core survives the rest of the offseason to stick together and gun for Banner 18 should be happy about Heavy Sports’ Steve Bulpett’s latest updates on the situation.

While one league source concedes that Brown will be a part of the KD negotiations for as long as they go on because the 25-year-old is ‘the single best player we’ve heard tied to this thing, so Brooklyn has to keep that alive,’ the talks themselves are not causing Brown to want to find a new home when he’s a free agent in 2024.

Quite the opposite actually. One league source has said ‘if they want him long term and they’re going to pay him the contract he deserves, I think he’s all-in on Boston’ referring to Brown and where his loyalties lie.

“From everything I’ve been told, Jaylen’s a loyal guy. I know frustration can happen when things aren’t going well, and I think we saw some of that earlier in this past season.”

The Boston Celtics would win any Kevin Durant deal that doesn’t include Marcus Smart

The NBA’s player-dominated structure could help the Boston Celtics, since Kevin Durant himself has relayed to the Brooklyn Nets front office that he’d like to play alongside reigning Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart.

Given KD’s wild ultimatum to Joe Tsai that he must either remove GM Sean Marks and HC Steve Nash or trade the All-NBA forward as soon as possible, the leverage is starting to creep on over to Brad Stevens’ side of the equation.

Obviously, Jaylen Brown is a must in any arrangement, even if he isn’t tin that top group with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Durant as one anonymous source told Bulpett. But any deal that doesn’t involve Smart as well should be seen as an unmitigated success.

Furthermore, any deal that doesn’t involved Smart that also brings back an extra piece like Seth Curry or Joe Harris would be a grand slam for a regime that is accustomed to hitting home runs in free agency and on the trade market.