Every day the rumors seem to change, which has you wondering if anyone actually knows what they’re talking bout, or if the Celtics even want to trade Jaylen Brown at all. On Sunday, we heard that the teams showing the most interest in trading for the 2024 Finals MVP were the Trail Blazers, Nets, Raptors, and Nuggets, but on Monday morning, Vincent Goodwill of ESPN reported that the Clippers are on the scene and “want Brown bad”.
It’s an interesting twist as we heard of interest from LA before the draft, but after taking Keaton Wagler with the 5th overall pick, it seemed like that dream was fully dead. The team seems committed to building around a youth movement and turning the page on the Kawhi Leonard era.
There are also intensifying rumors around a Kawhi trade as it seems he’ll get dealt in the coming days. So, what are the Clippers up to? Do they want to build around their young players, or not? Darius Garland is 26, and Wagler is 19. They have some intriguing prospects in Yanic Konan Neiderhauser, Cam Christie, and Jordan Miller, but that hardly looks like a dynastic foundation.
Clippers trading for Jaylen Brown makes zero sense for either team
There’s no way that they think they can move Kawhi, bring in Jaylen, and be in the mix in the Western Conference. Adding the soon-to-be 30-year-old Brown would certainly make the team interesting and more competitive, but it’s hard to see how that team would be anywhere close to contention during JB’s remaining prime years.
And that would have to be the goal of trading for Brown because Boston will be asking for draft capital and young players. The Clippers are currently short on both, and it makes negative sense for them to part with Wagler, so the only way this becomes realistic is if they plan to trade Kawhi, then turn around and sell those assets to Boston for Brown.
The Clippers can currently trade only two first-round picks, so if they can acquire a few more in the Kawhi deal, then they may have enough to get the Celtics’ attention. But they’d still need to make the money work, which would likely come down to whatever player(s) they get back for Leonard.
Maybe that would be someone like Brandon Ingram from the Raptors, but regardless, it’s not likely to be anyone that Boston covets. So, this is going to take a lot of draft picks; it’s unlikely to satisfy the Celtics’ needs, and to me, it makes very little sense for the Clippers. I’m not trying to diminish the reporting here, but I simply can’t see it happening.
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