Getty Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers and Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Boston Celtics may currently be gearing up for the start of their ninth-straight postseason run, but, for 10 other clubs across the association, the offseason has officially kicked off. With this, plans are already being set in motion, and, according to sources, one noteworthy scheme may involve a trade pursuit of Jaylen Brown.
On April 10, Jason Quick of The Athletic penned a piece discussing how the Portland Trail Blazers’ seven-time All-Star Damian Lillard is “not interested” in seeing the franchise embark on a youth movement and, instead, is urging the club to continue to try and build a contender around him.
Quick would note that general manager Joe Cronin and head coach Chauncey Billups seem willing to adhere to their cornerstone’s desires, which has some believing Portland could look to the trade market this summer where Brown could be one of several players pursued by the franchise.
“Cronin says the Blazers have a “target group” of players they think would be good fits in Portland, the same players he said he failed to land in February at the trade deadline. The Blazers were rumored to be pursuing Toronto forward O.G. Anunoby, and Lillard has long voiced an appreciation of forward Mikal Bridges, who was traded from Phoenix to Brooklyn in February. And some around the league believe Boston forward Jaylen Brown could be open to playing elsewhere,” Quick wrote.
“I’ll say this, Jaylen Brown is a player that Damian Lillard has had on his list.” – @JakeLFischer on a player/team situation to watch this summer.
If they were to somehow snatch away Jaylen Brown from the Celtics, assuming they re-sign stud forward Jerami Grant this offseason–a move he expects will happen–the Blazers would go on to formulate a new highly talented Big-3 with Damian Lillard leading the charge whilst running point.
Mavs Fans Want Luka Doncic Swap For Celtics’ Jaylen Brown
With Dallas’ tumultuous end to the 2022-23 campaign, there’s growing speculation that superstar Luka Doncic could request to be traded from the franchise.
Should this wind up becoming a reality, many Mavs fans have pushed their thoughts on Twitter and have expressed a desire to see the franchise pursue a swap of him for Celtics centerpiece, Jaylen Brown.
“Luka doncic for jaylen brown might b the trade,” Twitter user @Grim_linz wrote on April 8.
“His best move is to trade Luka Doncic to Boston Celtics for Jaylen Brown & Marcus Smart plus picks and pieces. Then 🔥 Jason Kidd hire Ime Udoka. Championship 🏆 in the near future, incoming 📨 💣🚀. Maybe 🤔 get Boston 2 take on contracts that r not working on Maverick’s roster,” @Rakhunuhepp35 wrote.
Could the Boston Celtics swap Jaylen Brown for Luka Doncic? Per one analyst, yes — if the timing is right
While it may seem like a rather far-fetched idea at the moment, Sam Quinn of CBS Sports suggested that such a transaction could make sense for both parties down the road, as the analyst would write: “…if he’s under contract and the Celtics haven’t won a championship in either 2023 or 2024, the idea of exploring a Brown and picks for Doncic swap makes plenty of sense.”
Joe Mazzulla Opens Up on Upcoming Celtics Playoff Run
Though the Boston Celtics as a whole are no strangers to playoff basketball, Joe Mazzulla finds himself in a rather unfamiliar situation as this will mark his first time being on the big stage whilst serving as a full-time NBA head coach.
Though to some the jitters may be too much to bear, the rookie headman recently told Steve Bulpett of Heavy Sports that, at the end of the day, it’s something that he understands he “can’t run away from.”
“Listen, you can’t run away from the fact that the playoffs have a different consequence,” he told Heavy Sports. “But the bigger things are, the more simple they are. So my goals are to do the same things I’ve done all season — rely on my staff, rely on the players and rely on the experience that I’ve had, because I’ve worked for great people.
“I’ve been a part of a lot of playoff series. That doesn’t mean that there’s not going to be mistakes made, but I have a lot of good people around me between staff and players. Our locker room is really intact, and I think that’s just as important as anything else.”
Pressure is on first-year coach Joe Mazzulla as @Celtics head into the playoffs. But a peer tells @HeavyOnSports he’ll be fine: “He’s a tough son of a b****. He’s a competitor, he’s a worker and he’s humble. He doesn’t think he’s God’s gift to the world.”
In his first year serving as head coach of the Celtics, Joe Mazzulla went on to guide the ball club to remarkable heights.
Through 82 games played Boston finished with the second-best record in the association at 57-25 while Mazzulla served as the head coach for Team Giannis at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.
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Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Could Form New Big-3 Alongside 7-Time All-Star: Sources