The NBA world is left wondering if the Boston Celtics will end their decade-long partnership with Jaylen Brown this offseason.
Brown, 29, has been heavily rumored to be on the Celtics’ trade radar after the team’s season crumbled in the first round of the playoffs.
With Brown coming off an NBA MVP caliber campaign, many would argue the Celtics have a golden opportunity to package Brown in a deal that would return them multiple stars and attractive draft capital.
According to NBA insider Bill Simons, if the Celtics choose to trade Brown this summer, they would require multiple players in a deal that would help facilitate a subsequent roster move.
Wrote @Fullcourtpass on X: “IF the Celtics trade Jaylen Brown it would be for multiple pieces, more flexibility, guys that would lead to one extra move after this, per @BillSimmons.”
Celtics Star Continues to Be Central Offseason Talking Point
GettyBoston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown drives the ball. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
There are still no confirmed reports of the Celtics looking to shop Brown this summer; it is merely speculation at this point.
What fueled the Brown trade rumors were two things: the Celtics’ early playoff exit and belief that Brown and the Celtics developed a contentious relationship.
It makes sense for a team as fabled as the Celtics to deal a major player like Brown after losing in the first round of the playoffs, but the idea that Brown is unhappy with the organization appears to be entirely conjecture.
In May, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens refuted the notion that Brown was frustrated with the franchise. He also referenced a conversation he had with the All-NBA star after the season as “nothing but positive.”
“He has not expressed those frustrations to me,” Stevens said, later adding, “We’ve been here 10 years together, and I do think that — obviously I love JB,” Stevens said. “Everybody around here loves JB, and I think — just like any of our other guys, as we get to the end of the season — I’ll be here, and my door is always open.”
Boston Could View Jaylen Brown as Strong Trade Piece — But Has No Definitive Reasons to Move Him
GettyBoston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown dribbles the ball. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
Had the Celtics not won a championship and gone to multiple NBA Finals captained by the duo of Brown and Jayson Tatum, it would be hard to argue against the team not having to move at least one of the two stars.
But the Celtics are heavily-decorated in the nine seasons Brown and Tatum had been the focal point of the franchise.
Without Tatum — who didn’t return from an Achilles tendon rupture until the last month of the regular season — for much of the year, the Celtics still rattled off 56 wins and had three straight chances to punch their ticket into the second round of the playoffs.
If not for a bad collapse, the Celtics, likely motivated to avenge a second-round defeat to New York a year earlier, would have loved their chances against the Knicks in a series presenting the opportunity to go to the conference finals.
But the Boston’s season ended in April when it has typically extended until at least late May over the last nine years.
Changes can be expected.
Celtics Take Strong Stance on Potential Jaylen Brown Trade After New Report