We had heard some whispers about interest in a Jaylen Brown for Jalen Duren swap a few days ago, but that idea didn’t really seem to percolate. Still, there has been plenty of reporting that Duren and the Pistons are far apart in his restricted free agency and that he’s going to meet with the Kings and Lakers once free agency kicks off.
Now that has happened, and we haven’t heard anything about the Pistons getting closer to a deal, just that they have no intention of trading their young All-NBA big man. They can match any offer, but after his playoff dud, there’s some question about how much they truly want to invest in Duren.
And it doesn’t seem to be sitting particularly well with him. He’s making it clear he wants to go somewhere else, and most recently, that team has circled back to the Celtics. On his Bleacher Report live stream, Jake Fischer reported that Duren’s camp is interested in a sign-and-trade deal with Boston.
Jalen Duren interested in trade to Boston
This would be a fascinating development as the Cs would be poaching a 22-year-old center who just averaged 19.5 points and 10.5 rebounds last season away from a Pistons team that won 60 games and landed the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
But this would come down to what Boston is willing to pay. The playoffs were eye-openingly bad for Duren, who was arguably the third best cetner on his own team. It’s easy to excuse some growing pains for such a young player in his first playoff action, but there’s no doubt it’s a major red flag.
Still, that’s a young player who has already shown a lot and should only get better with age and experience. Add in the Celtics’ track record of developing big men, and this could be a match made in heaven. Having said that, the Celtics have to keep the annual price below a max deal, and hopefully something with an annual average value closer to $40 million per season would be a pretty good bet.
Beyond that, the Celtics would obviously have to make the money work here, and that would require some serious talent heading back to Detroit, basically either Jaylen Brown or Derrick White. If the Brown situation is untenable and the offers floating around are as bad as what we’re being led to believe, this may be an opportunity to strike for Boston.
Celtics can't overpay Duren after playoff dud
But if patching up things up with Brown is an option, I’d be very hesitant to do this swap for either player. White had a down year shooting the ball, but his value to the team is immense, and he’s a proven winner and clutch performer. Even a decade older than Duren, with a contract in the low $30 millions for the next few years, he feels like a safer bet.
Ultimately, this is probably nothing more than a leverage play by Duren and his camp. The big man is clearly frustrated with the Pistons and wants to get as much money as possible. He has already expressed interest in the Kings and Lakers, so frankly, it feels like he just wants to go anywhere he’s wanted. Furthermore, there’s still a good chance the Pistons match for a guy who looked like a young building block along with Cade Cunningham and Ausar Thompson.
So while I believe, given the current trade landscape, that in the right circumstances, the Celtics could have interest in a deal like this, I have to think the interest is likely overstated and this whole saga ends with Duren going back to Detroit, meeting on a deal somewhere in the middle.
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