The Jaylen Brown trade rumors seem to change by the hour, but at this point, it’s starting to become clear which teams are actually serious about their pursuit. On Sunday, Michael Scotto reported that the four teams actively chasing JB are the Trail Blazers, Nets, Raptors, and Nuggets, which was confirmed by multiple sources.
On Monday morning, Vincent Goodwill of ESPN added the Clippers to that list as well. I’m sure other teams may be sniffing around the periphery, and a wild card team could come out of nowhere at any minute. But for now, it seems like these five teams are the ones in the hunt.
Maybe none of them can put together a deal that moves the Celtics to trade their All-NBA superstar, but if he gets dealt, it’s looking like one of these teams. So, if that is the case, let’s take a look at what the Celtics could actually get back in each package from best to worst.
1.) Trail Blazers can offer best overall assets
The Blazers are playing hardball, but if Boston can get them to part with Scoot Henderson and Donovan Clingan, that’s a promising young point guard and center for the present and future. Shaedon Sharpe could be intriguing, and Toumani Camar is a defensive stud. Jerami Grant’s contract is brutal, but it’s not like he’s useless.
The big clincher here is the draft picks, especially the Milwaukee ones. If the Celtics can get a combination of those young players and 3-4 of these picks, that’s a pretty solid haul.
2.) Nuggets deal can keep Celtics relevant
Denver is in an interesting spot here. Unlike the other suitors, they can’t really offer any promising young players or draft picks. What they can do is give the Celtics a lot of win-now talent that could keep them in contention. The health and contract for Jamal Murray are iffy, but he’s coming off an All-NBA season. Aaron Gordon’s health is concerning as well, but he’d be a great fit in Boston. Cam Johnson and Christian Braun could be in the deal as well. It would be a major change, but this is the only potential deal that wouldn’t be a huge immediate step back.
3.) Nets provide cleanest path to reset
If the Celtics just want to clear their books, the Nets could be the best option. They can give Michael Porter Jr.’s expiring $40.8 million deal and load up the deal with draft picks. The Nets owe picks to Houston, but any of their own firsts and a juicy Denver 2032 pick could be fairly enticing. Boston could be stocked with assets and money to play with if that’s the plan.
4.) Raptors at least have their own picks
The Raptors deal would require the Celtics to take on some rough money in either Brandon Ingram or Immanuel Quickley, but they could angle for a decent young player like Ja’Kobe Walter. The saving grace here for Toronto is that they own all their picks and could give Boston every pick and swap they can trade. It’s not super inspiring, but betting against the Raptors with the new lottery odds isn’t an awful outcome.
5.) Clippers deal makes no sense
A trade with the Clippers just makes very little sense for either side. I can’t imagine them parting with Darius Garland or Keaton Wagler, so they really have nothing to appease Boston. They are also short on draft picks and don’t have a young centerpiece to get the Celtics’ attention. Barring another move, I just don’t see this one.
There’s no great deal for Boston
The point of this exercise is mostly to prove that there isn’t a slam dunk of a deal out there for the Celtics at the moment. They could load up on picks, get some young players, or see if Jayson Tatum can do better with Nikola Jokic’s supporting cast, but nothing is going to be attractive in the short term compared to simply keeping Jaylen Brown.
So ultimately, that may well be the path that Brad Stevens takes. He may have to patch up the relationship, but crazier things have certainly happened. JB is smart and has three years left on his deal; I can’t imagine he’s going to quit on the team or demand a trade.
There’s also a chance of a trade coming together with a third team that could be much more intriguing, but that’s purely hypothetical. As of now, the best realistic option seems to be keeping Brown, if that’s still on the table. If not, the eventual trade may be disappointing for Celtics fans.
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