The Atlanta Hawks could circle back on a potential trade for Boston Celtics superstar Jaylen Brown after having brief trade talks last year.
Brown has been in the news as of late for a variety of reasons after the Celtics were knocked out of the playoffs in a first-round upset by the Philadelphia 76ers. Anytime a high-profile, high-payroll team loses in the first round of the playoffs, naturally, questions will be asked about their roster.
Since Brown likely has one of the highest trade values on the Celtics despite his massive contract, the Celtics are expected to have conversations with other teams about potentially trading him.
One of the teams that the Celtics may talk with is the Hawks, who could be interested in Brown, a native of Marietta, Georgia.
Hawks Could Circle Back on Jaylen Brown Trade
Last offseason, the Hawks and Celtics had brief discussions about potentially acquiring Brown in a trade, but the talks didn’t lead to anything, and Brown ended up playing out the year in Boston.
With Jayson Tatum out for most of the season due to injury, Brown had a career year for the Celtics, averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in 71 games. When the All-NBA teams are announced, Brown will absolutely be named to one of the three teams due to his incredible year for the banged-up Celtics, helping the team earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference despite Tatum’s injury.
However, after losing to the Sixers, the Celtics may circle back with the Hawks about Brown, according to NBA insider Chris Mannix.
“I wrote this week about the Atlanta Hawks. Jaylen is a Georgia native. Last offseason, the Celtics and Hawks did have a brief conversation about Jaylen Brown. It didn’t really go anywhere. The Hawks were leery about the size of Brown’s contract, which at the time was, I believe, the richest contract in NBA history. And they weren’t really in a position to go all in. The Celtics were not looking to give Jaylen Brown away, either. So, it didn’t go anywhere,” Mannix said (via BasketNews).
“But that’s a team, given what happened this season, that I could see getting interested in Jaylen Brown. Again, the Miamis, the Houstons, Golden State: teams that are theoretically going to be in the mix for Giannis Antetokounmpo, could turn around and make a run at Jaylen Brown. So, I think that situation bears watching.”
Hawks Have Interesting Trade Assets for Brown
If the Hawks are interested in Brown, they do have interesting trade assets that Boston could want in a potential trade.
All-Star Jalen Johnson is likely off the table in any potential trade talks, but former NBA Defensive Player of the Year runner-up Dyson Daniels could potentially be had, as could reigning NBA Most Improved Player Nickeil Alexander-Walker. As well, Jonathan Kuminga and Zaccharie Risacher could all be part of any Brown deal for salary-matching purposes. But what is most interesting about the Hawks is that they hold several first-round picks that the Celtics could be interested in if the team wants to pick up futures to add to their war chest of draft picks.
We will see this summer if the Celtics do indeed move Brown, and if they choose to do so, expect the Hawks to be one of the teams most heavily linked to him.
Hawks Could Circle Back on Potential Jaylen Brown Trade