It almost feels like a coordinated attack, the way teams are reportedly dropping out of the Jaylen Brown chase. The league may smell blood in the water, thinking the situation with Brown in Boston has become toxic, and we’re seeing people around the NBA trying to drive the price down, betting that the Celtics are backed into a corner and will be forced to settle for the best package eventually.
And, unfortunately, that very well may be the case. We haven’t exactly heard definitely that Brown will or will not be traded, but it seems clear there’s some level of desire for both sides to move on, and reading between the lines, the relationship may be over.
If that’s the case, it makes sense for teams to try to lower the price as much as possible, no matter how badly they want Brown. That may explain why we see reporting that teams like the Clippers, Rockets, Pelicans, Hawks, and most recently, the Trail Blazers, are completely out of the mix.
But I’m not buying it, especially not for Portland. They’ve made it clear that they want Brown, and I don’t see why trading for Ja Morant would change that equation. Ja is an offense-first point guard who makes for an awkward fit with Damian Lillard, Scoot Henderson, Jrue Holiday, Shaedon Sharpe, and Deni Avdija.
Blazers trading for Jaylen Brown makes more sense than ever
Yet, the team is, at the very least, posturing since the Ja deal, with reports coming out that they aren’t engaging with Brown negotiations any longer, that this was their big move and they like the upside of this combo, that Donovan Clingan is “essentially off limits in trade talks”, and even that they intend to keep Jrue Holiday and think the four guards can work.
On Tuesday morning, they also re-signed Robert Williams III to a three-year deal, which would seem to take yet another potential Celtics target out of the mix. It’s a bizarre situation playing out with the Portland roster, and again, I’m not totally sure I believe it.
The messaging makes perfect sense, but it would still make more sense for them to swap some of their guard depth for Brown. With Timelord back in tow, they now have a lot invested in a lot of centers and guards, but they’ve left themselves very short on the wing. With guys like Dame, Jrue, and Ja on the roster and Avdija still on a ridiculously team-friendly contract, it’s time for them to strike while the iron is hot.
They’ve got the assets and depth to make the big swing for Brown, which would get them on the verge of contention and perfectly balance the roster. There’s no rush for Portland, and they can keep this charade going as long as they want, but they should absolutely want Brown, and if Stevens and the Celtics don’t blink, they will have to up their offer and come off of these claims eventually.
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