Boston Celtics trading for Donovan Mitchell would mean backcourt plays out of position

As Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley pointed out, Jrue Holiday and Derrick White would have to play out of position if the Boston Celtics were to land Donovan Mitchell in a swap for Jaylen Brown over the offseason.

"He is a special offensive talent and, for the purposes of this thought exercise, the caliber of player who could swap jerseys in a Brown deal," Buckley prefaced before saying, "The Celtics could try keeping him out of Mitchell talks, but there likely isn't a trade to be had without him.

"Mitchell would give Boston another go-to scoring option to pair with Tatum in a vicious, pick-your-poison pairing. The Celtics would lose some size in this swap, but luckily White and Holiday are able to play bigger than they actually are."

Donovan Mitchell will not be traded to the Boston Celtics

Mitchell is not going to the Celtics this offseason. Not for Brown, not for anyone. That much should go without saying.

Mitchell has likely played his last game in a Cavs uniform, but Cleveland isn't going to risk having to give up assets to offload him; something that the Celtics front office would ask for if Brown's name were to enter the mix.

The Cavs could have several franchises look to overpay to land him instead. The Los Angeles Lakers are in desperation mode and could be coaxed into giving up the farm to land him, while the Brooklyn Nets could feel pressure to become competitive themselves and offer a strong package. That doesn't even count any other franchises that'd be willing to roll the dice in Mitchell's contract year.

Buckley published three different Brown trade pieces despite the Celtics looking like strong favorites to come away with the Eastern Conference crown. Of the three, the Devin Booker proposal is the only one close to possible, and even that is a massive stretch.