The Boston Celtics knew they were taking a risk when they offered Jaylen Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but they hoped it wouldn't be something they'd need to worry about for long once the 31-year-old superstar came to town. Instead, he ended up in Miami, raising even more questions about Brown's future.
On Tuesday morning, Shams Charania said on ESPN that he spoke with a few people who believe the Celtics need to get a Brown trade done.
Shams on Jaylen Brown:
— Underdog NBA (@UnderdogNBA) June 23, 2026
"The Celtics and Jaylen Brown will have hard conversations moving forward about the fallout from a trade that didn't happen ... I've had a few people tell me last night, you've gotta get a deal done if you're the Celtics."pic.twitter.com/XC5Bob2654
The Antetokounmpo talks weren't the first time the Celtics had offered Brown in a package for another star, but this feels a lot different than in 2022, when they tried to trade for Kevin Durant. A lot has happened since then, namely Boston's 2024 championship run, where Brown won Finals MVP.
He's coming off the best season of his career, guiding the Celtics to the No. 2 seed in the East without Jayson Tatum for the majority of the year. The NBA is a business, and Brown has to understand that, but that doesn't mean he will still want to move forward in Boston.
Celtics could still trade Jaylen Brown, just not for another star
Though it would've been a hard goodbye, Boston could've justified trading Brown in a package for Antetokounmpo. Brad Stevens talked about the Celtics' need to be more impactful at the rim, and Giannis could've been that player for them.
It's not every offseason that a player at his level becomes available, and given the state of the league, Boston made an aggressive push to go all-in.
The dust hasn't cleared yet (the trade can't become official until July 6), but we know that the Celtics came up short. Depending on what you think, that's either a good or bad thing, but what everyone should be able to agree on is not wanting to lose Brown, especially now.
Unfortunately, though, that very well could be what happens. If Brown feels disrespected by what happened and still wants to be traded (and Boston is unable to change that), a deal could happen soon. As The Stein Line previously reported, the Hawks, Trail Blazers, and Rockets were teams with interest in the guard, and they could (should) be reaching out to the Celtics.
Boston won't get the return it thought it would when it offered Brown for Antetokounmpo. The Celtics could still look a lot different next season, just not in the way anyone thought. Missing out on a player like Giannis is one thing, but also losing a homegrown star in the process is another. And it's hard not to think about how it could affect Tatum, which is a whole different conversation.
Let's see if Boston can come out of this on the other side in one piece.
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