Former Top-3 Draft Pick Floated as Ideal Celtics Target in Jaylen Brown Trade

With the offseason still over a month away, the Boston Celtics continue to be linked with a potential trade that would see Jaylen Brown heading to a new team.

On a June 10 episode of CLNS Media’s Garden Report, James Toscano discussed why LaMelo Ball would be the ideal trade target if Boston did decide to move on from their All-NBA wing.

“I’ve been pretty impressed with his game,” Toscano said. “When he is on and when he is healthy, I think he is the right style point guard for this team. I think him and Tatum would be unbelievable together. They put on a show, they’d be entertaining as hell, and I think they’d win games. And this is a trade that I think a guy like Wick would like because LaMello ball is going to put asses in the seats more than Anthony Simons is going to.”

Before fracturing his ankle in the 2022-23 NBA season, LaMelo was playing some of the best basketball of his career and projects to be among the elite guards in the NBA when he reaches his prime in a few more years. As such, the Celtics would likely entertain discussions surrounding a potential trade, although it does appear to be an unlikely scenario.

Hall of Fame Guard Issues Jaylen Brown Statement

During a recent interview with Heavy on Sports Steve Bulpett, NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas shared his thought’s on Jaylen Brown’s current situation with the Celtics – noting how the Georgia native has become one of the best players in the NBA.

“Yeah, he’s been great there,” Thomas said. “He’s had a great career there, and he’s become one of the best players in the league. They’ve done well, and he’s done well there. It’s been a win-win, I think, for him and for the Celtics.”

This past season, Brown was voted to the second All-Star game of his career, along with being named a member of the All-NBA second team. Brown has participated in 67 regular-season games this season, averaging 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 49.1% from the field and 33.5% from deep.

Former Celtics Big Man Wants Celtics to Trade Brown

While Thomas is of the belief that Brown should remain with the Celtics moving forward, it would appear that another Hall of Famer is of a different opinion. According to Shaquille O’Neal, who was speaking on a June 6 episode of The Big Podcast, Boston should look to split up their star duo.

“I don’t want five stars on my team,” O’Neal said. “I want a guy that I can go to every night, I want a guy that’s going to lead, and I want three dogs, three others. I would prefer if they were specialists: one to be a shooter, one to be a rebounder, and one to be a fighter. I would, business-wise, break [Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown] up and use one of them to get the pieces I want. I will say Tatum is the number one; use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player, and then just do it like that.”