Getty Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics reacts after a play in the third quarter against the Miami Heat in Game Three of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Eastern Conference Finals.
Despite the impressive efforts put forth by Brad Stevens and company this summer, when discussing the Boston Celtics virtually every media outlet has found itself devoting a majority of its time to discussing how the franchise could be the ideal and most realistic landing spot for superstar Kevin Durant.
Seemingly from the moment it was announced on June 30 that the wing had requested a trade from Brooklyn, the Celtics were viewed as the team that could piece together the most enticing offer the Brooklyn Nets could potentially receive.
A major reason for this was the idea that young star Jaylen Brown likely would be used as the top-billed outbound asset, as many labeled him as the best centerpiece that could be seen heading to Brooklyn in any hypothetical Durant blockbuster this summer.
As time has gone by these once deafening trade rumors have all but faded away, as both KD and the Nets have come to an agreement to stay together in hopes of winning the 2023 NBA Finals.
And while the dying down of this situation should be viewed as nothing but a positive for the Boston Celtics, as the vast majority of fans were not so fond of the idea of seeing such a deal go down in the first place, it hasn’t stopped the discussions of Brown possibly leaving at some point.
Despite being eligible for an extension this offseason, there are many who believe that the 25-year-old could opt to wait out the remaining two years of his current deal in hopes of securing a max contract via free agency in the summer of 2024 where he could theoretically land an annual salary starting at $42 million.
Should he wind up hitting the open market, one should expect that virtually every team will look to pursue the star wing and, according to an anonymous Eastern Conference executive who recently spoke with Heavy Sports’ Sean Deveney, the Los Angeles Lakers could be one of these teams.
“Obviously, a star comes up when the Lakers have cap space and there is going to be that speculation,” the source told Deveney. “There are players who want to play for the Lakers because they’re the Lakers and they’re in L.A., but I don’t think Brown is an L.A. guy that way. It’s more just because he’d want to play with LeBron, if LeBron was going to stay there, if Davis stays healthy, if they are back to competing in the West and not just trying to make a play-in. That’s the lure for anyone in that free-agent class.”
Brown has been very vocal about his respect and admiration for LeBron James over the years and even was selected fourth overall by the Lakers superstar during the 2021 NBA All-Star Game draft.
Considering James just signed a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension that will run through the 2024-25 season, he’s expected to still be residing in Los Angeles when the Boston Celtics wing is slated to become a free agent.
Brown a Major ‘Loser’ of Offseason Drama
Over the summer, Brown’s name was constantly being floated around as a possible trade candidate during the Durant circus.
Though this may have been a true disappointment for many fans, this was especially true for the All-Star himself, who even went to social media to share his feelings on the trade talks by sharing a three-letter tweet.
Because of his reported inclusion in blockbuster discussions despite having one of the best seasons of his career and, at times, serving as the most productive player for the Boston Celtics during the 2022 NBA Finals, Zach Harper of The Athletic believes that Brown is one of the biggest losers from the now-disbanded Durant sweepstakes.
“Brown going through trade rumors might be normal, but there’s a certain point where enough might be enough. You can’t blame the Celtics for looking at a potential swap involving Brown and Durant. It’s impossible to argue that Durant isn’t an upgrade over Brown, but you could still question fit on some level with him and Tatum versus what we’ve seen with the growth of the Tatum-Brown duo,” Harper wrote.
“If Brown has a tough start to the season, the trade rumors will be blamed, and overanalyzing his demeanor and body language will become the work of social media sleuths. The Celtics worked through some internal stuff that bubbled over to the media last season, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that gets fixed again. Before this offseason, Brown was never compared to what Durant was doing.
“Now that comparison will find its way into plenty of talking points. Brown can handle a lot of this, but this could wear on him. He’ll just have to block out any noise and make sure to save his big nights for when Boston faces the Nets.”
Even with these questions of whether or not the Tatum-Brown tandem can wind up leading the Celtics to banner 18, since joining forces in 2017 the team has accumulated a record of 239-151 (.613), been to three Eastern Conference Finals, won the 2022 Eastern Conference crown, and are currently tabbed as favorites to take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy come the conclusion of 2022-23.
Brown ‘All-in on Boston’
An adrenalin-filled offseason hasn’t seemed to rattle Jaylen Brown all that much, if at all. In fact, an NBA executive told Heavy’s Steve Bulpett that, if the Boston Celtics are willing to commit for the long-haul, then so, too, is the wing.
“I think Jaylen IS long term,” the executive told Bulpett. “If they want him long term and they’re going to pay him the contract he deserves, I think he’s all-in on Boston. From everything I’ve been told, Jaylen’s a loyal guy. I know frustration can happen when things aren’t going well, and I think we saw some of that earlier in this past season.
“But when you take a step back and look at things, I think he wants to be there. And any problems that could ever happen with that relationship would probably have to come from him getting the idea that they’re not in on him. And right now, I don’t see that from the Celtics. I think they know what they have in Jaylen — now and for the future — and they want to keep that going.”
Reports are that the Celtics have been in constant communication with Brown throughout the summer and appear driven to once again compete for their first NBA Championship since 2008.