How KD trade rumors might have affected Jaylen Brown’s relationship with Boston Celtics

Last summer, during free agency, Kevin Durant requested a trade from the Nets — and one team that was rumored to be interested was the Boston Celtics.

It was reported that the Celtics offered Derrick White, Jaylen Brown, and a draft pick for Kevin Durant. The Nets rejected the offer because they wanted to add Marcus Smart, another rotational player, and additional draft picks to the package.

It was a confusing time for Brown because he didn’t know if the rumors were true and where he stood with the Celtics.

Jaylen Brown had three-way call with Brad Stevens and Jayson Tatum to find out where he stood with Boston Celtics

In an interview with Logan Murdock from The Ringer, Jaylen Brown provided details on what transpired during the summer.

"“You just have to have a direct conversation,” Stevens tells me of the meeting. “And you just have to be able to say, ‘This is what’s real. This is where we are. Obviously, you and Jayson are the two guys that we’ve built the whole roster around. And our every expectation is for us to come and compete together and try to be two games better than we were last year.’”"

Once the conversation happened, Brown said they were all on the same page by the end, but he still had difficulty telling the organization’s direction.

"“Once we all got together and kind of talked it through, we all left on the same page. But the actions that was taking place during that time, it just didn’t seem like that was the direction that the organization was going in. I don’t know. It was hard to tell, at least.”"

Jaylen Brown status with Boston Celtics is unknown

Murdock asked Jaylen Brown about his future with the Celtics, and Brown gave a vague answer:

"“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.”“I just enjoy the time that you have now,” he says. “If it’s your whole career, it’s your whole career. If it’s not, it’s not. Some of the greatest players of all time haven’t finished with their organization. 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.”"

Brown has been constantly in trade rumors and is unsure if the Celtics want to keep him long-term.

If Brown is named to an All-NBA team this season, he will be eligible for the supermax contract — and the question would become whether or not the Celtics offer that deal to him.

One will certainly hope they do, but we won’t know until then.