The Boston Celtics are reportedly looking to contend in 2026-27 no matter what happens on the Jaylen Brown front. Boston is reportedly seeking trade suitors for Brown, but its goal of remaining in the realm of championship contention certainly limits its options.
Thankfully, there's one All-Star whom the Celtics should be able to at least attempt to acquire in a potential Brown trade: Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray.
Boston reportedly attempted to trade Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but fell short of that goal when the Milwaukee Bucks accepted the Miami Heat's offer instead. They're now tasked with exploring the market for a star they alienated for an unsuccessful pursuit.
According to Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, the Celtics are only willing to trade Brown if the deal helps keep them among the NBA's true contenders.
"Sources say Boston is only prepared to move Brown in a scenario that keeps the Celtics in legitimate contention with the newly crowned champion Knicks atop the Eastern Conference."
With that lofty goal in mind, there aren't all that many star players they can realistically target. Murray, however, could be an exception to the rule.
Jamal Murray would fit perfectly with Jayson Tatum, could be available?
Murray isn't necessarily rumored to be on the open market, but there are several signs suggesting he could be. For one, Nuggets president Josh Kroenke plainly stated that "everything is on the table" except for trading Nikola Jokic this summer.
That would seemingly include trading Murray. That also leads to the second reason to believe a trade is viable: Denver is in a similar position to Boston.
The Celtics won the championship in 2024, but have lost in the first and second round in the two years since. Perhaps one can point to Jayson Tatum's injury woes, but time doesn't stand still and players don't stop aging closer to the end of their primes when a superstar's ascension is interrupted.
That's unfortunately put Boston in the position of having to go back to the drawing board, particularly after they failed to trade Brown for Antetokounmpo and inevitably created tension with the All-Star.
Denver, meanwhile, won its first-ever title in 2023. Unfortunately, it lost in the second round in each of the two seasons that followed, and fell in the first round in 2026 despite the Minnesota Timberwolves losing multiple players to injuries.
It wasn't necessarily Murray's fault, but if Boston calls Denver with a star swap in mind, there could at least be a healthy discussion and negotiation.
Jamal Murray would give Celtics a chance to match up with Jalen Brunson
In terms of what Murray would bring to the table, it's a combination of a championship pedigree, his status as a proven postseason performer, and an opportunity to counter Jalen Brunson. Murray boasts career postseason averages of 23.7 points, 6.0 assists, 4.9 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 2.6 three-point field goals made and played a pivotal role when the Nuggets won the title in 2023.
Alongside Tatum, Murray could operate as as a high-volume scoring threat and a high-level playmaker who can offer off-ball value as a sharpshooting guard that Brown doesn't necessarily provide.
With Murray and Derrick White, however, the Celtics could move forward with one of the best guard duos in the NBA. They're both known for stepping up in the clutch, can help Boston space the floor, and have varying degrees of defensive proficiency that permit versatility in terms of matchups.
The Celtics may ultimately explore other options, but it would behoove Brad Stevens to at least call Denver about a dream Tatum partner in Murray.
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