Analyst believes James Harden can pry Jaylen Brown off the Boston Celtics

SB Nation’s Lachard Binkley believes James Harden can help pry Jaylen Brown off the Boston Celtics to join “The Beard” in Houston this offseason should his 76ers upset the Cs in the second round of the Eastern Conference postseason.

Rockets insider John Granato of ESPN 97.5 Houston first linked Brown to the Space City on March 30.

“Yesterday, I got some insight into the Rockets organization bringing in veterans,” Granato said. “They’re going to do that. I’m going to tell you this. You’re gonna hear a lot of noise about Jaylen Brown. He wants out of Boston. It’s the same as Harden. Daryl Morey thought Harden had star-level ability, which he did. There are guys in this rotation right now that are going to be bench players. They’re not satisfied. I don’t think Tillman is going to be afraid of Ime Udoka.”

Should the 76ers knock off the Boston Celtics in the second round of the postseason, it’s highly likely Brown trade rumors will kick back up. In fact, until Brown signs a supermax with the team, the Celtics forward will likely be the biggest name in NBA mock trades you see.

Strong Rockets coaching link could sway Jaylen Brown off the Boston Celtics

The presence of recently-hired Rockets head coach Ime Udoka in Houston could be the main draw of Brown joining Harden in the west. Brown, like teammate Marcus Smart, was said to have a strong connection with the suspended and ultimately coach.

Should the Celtics engage the Rockets in trade talks — and we are far from needing to seriously entertain this, to be clear — Jalen Green, Jabari Smith, and Alperen Sengun figure to be the top potential targets for Boston’s front office.