There have been so many rumored Jaylen Brown trades out there ever since the Celtics fell short in their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo, but it seems like his actual market is starting to take shape. On Sunday, Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype reported that the Trail Blazers, Nets, Nuggets, Raptors, Hawks, Clippers, and Hornets have all shown interest.
Scotto noted that the Hornets, Hawks, and Clippers talks have all cooled off since the draft, and that there’s no real interest from rumored teams like the Magic, Rockets, and Pelicans. That leaves the real suitors as Portland, Brooklyn, Denver, and Toronto.
That’s an interesting mix of teams. The Nuggets are clearly trying to salvage their contender window with Nikola Jokic, the Blazers and Raptors are young teams who got a sniff of the playoffs and want to take a big step, and the Nets are in a complete rebuild, one of the youngest and worst teams in the league last season.
It shows the true value, versatility, and allure of a player like Brown, who is coveted by all kinds of teams. He’d be a fascinating sidekick for Jokic, he’d form an intriguing tandem with either of Deni Avdija or Scottie Barnes, and he could be the 1a and the face of a rebuild for the Nets.
Most JB trades built around draft capital
All of those options make perfect sense for those teams and for Brown (without knowing what JB actually wants, of course), but what actually makes sense for the Celtics?
We’ve already talked a good amount about a potential Blazers deal, and that one, along with deals from Toronto and Brooklyn, would be built largely around draft picks. The Celtics would want a boatload of picks from those teams, and they’d likely be taking back some very questionable salaries in the form of Jerami Grant, Brandon Ingram, or Michael Porter Jr.
Boston could get some interesting young talent in those deals, but they’d basically be trading JB for a haul of picks and some hope. Guys like Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe, Ja’Kobe Walter, Day’Ron Sharpe, and others could be useful and have some upside, but they aren’t coming close to replacing Brown’s production any time soon.
Nuggets the only trade partner that’s not clear step back
The only deal where that may be a possibility is one with Denver. The Nuggets don’t have much in the way of draft capital, but they have solid vets to trade like Jamal Murray, Aaron Gordon, and Cam Johnson (who Scotto mentioned as someone that Boston had interest in). This type of deal wouldn’t have nearly the long-term upside that one of the others would, but it could keep the Celtics in contention.
None of those players is as good as Brown, but adding Gordon and Johnson to Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Neemias Queta, and others would keep the Celtics squarely in the mix next season.Â
None of these deals are home runs for the Celtics, and that’s likely why we haven’t seen much movement or heard of anything heating up despite all of the obvious interest. We’ll see if Brad Stevens ultimately decides to do a deal, and it will be telling to see what kind of return package he emphasizes (if any at all), but either way, it should all be settled in the next few days, and we’ll finally get some answers.
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