Getty Kevin Durant #7 of the Brooklyn Nets.
What if the Brooklyn Nets (32-22) could essentially start over?
“Whether the Boston Celtics should actually do this is up for debate, but Jaylen Brown is due for a massive pay raise, to the tune of a five-year $290 million extension this offseason,” writes Eric Richter and Dylan Svoboda in a ‘trade predictions’ piece for the New York Post. “The Celtics may love Brown, but do they love him that much?”
Before signing Kyrie Irving – since traded to the Dallas Mavericks – and the sign-and-trade that brought Kevin Durant to Brooklyn, the Nets snapped a three-year playoff drought and washed the taste of disappointment out of their mouths.
It followed their last failed experiment at putting together the NBA’s next great superteam.
That super team – consisting primarily of aging veterans Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce – lasted one season before Pierce was traded before Garnett followed him out the door. It also cost the Nets a bevy of players and picks one of which churned out Brown who has become one of the best two-way stars in the NBA. He’s also been linked to Durant in trade rumors before with their names linked in the latter stages of this past offseason.
“The Celtics offered Brown, guard Derrick White and a draft pick to the Nets for Durant, reported Shams Charania of The Athletic in July of 2022. “The proposal was rejected, and Brooklyn has asked Boston — in any proposal — to include Brown, Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, draft picks, and potentially one more rotation player, those sources added. Currently, the Celtics are less inclined to include Smart along with multiple other player assets or pick assets, but the franchise is mulling over next steps on how to approach discussions.”
Those talks – which were never completely shot down – were brought back to the forefront by ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith in light of Irving’s trade.
Pumping The Brakes on a Kevin Durant-Jaylen Brown Trade
Brian Robb of MassLive.com is not so sure a Brown-Durant swap is in the cards. At least not without some other dominoes falling first such as the financial ramifications for Brown who is having a breakout season.
“From a Celtics perspective, the only way you include Brown in an offer is if you think he’s a major flight risk a year out from now upon hitting free agency. However, he’s put himself in position to be in the mix for a supermax extension offer if he makes an All-NBA team this season. His All-Star selection shows he has a very real chance of making it into one of those slots with a strong second half of the season. Factor in the Celtics needing to include much more than Brown to make any trade work and this is a hypothetical that doesn’t sound feasible at this juncture.
“Like last summer, it makes for an interesting thought exercise but don’t count on Durant going to Boston or anywhere else this week.”
Jaylen Brown Appreciation Post
Brown is averaging career-highs with 27 points and 7.1 rebounds per game adding 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals this season. While he has shot a career-worst 33.4% from downtown on (a career-high) 7.7 attempts, his 58.8% true shooting mark is also a career-best.
Robb also notes that, while Boston could easily get to the $35 million it would require to absorb Durant’s deal and satisfy league rules, the players in the package the Nets got in return for Irving – Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith – are the types of players who should complement the 13-time All-Star well on both ends of the floor.
Nets Staying Active
Brooklyn has remained active on the trade market post-Irving with links to several Toronto Raptors players as well as rumors of outside interest in trading for Durant. What there has not been is any indication that the Nets are willing to play ball at the moment.
That may change this summer or even sooner if Durant demands out again.
But, with just one day and some change remaining and the Celtics potentially poised to make back-to-back runs to the NBA Finals, it seems less than likely we see this blockbuster deal go down before the trade deadline.
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Predicted Trade Reboots Nets With 26-Year-Old Superstar Potentially Seeking $290M Payday