Celtics Jaylen Brown Does Not Want To Be Traded
The NBA offseason is a crazy time and when a player like Kevin Durant requests a trade, it becomes even crazier.
Durant requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets ahead of the start of NBA free agency and while virtually every team in the league has checked in with Brooklyn about a potential trade, no advancements have been made and no deal with any team appears to be imminent.
While it is likely that this situation will get dragged into training camp near the end of September and possibly into the start of the 2022-23 season, the Boston Celtics have been named a possible suitor for Durant recently because of the assets that they have to barter with.
Not only could Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart and big man Robert Williams III be viewed as high-level assets by the Brooklyn Nets if offered up in a potential Kevin Durant trade, but All-Star wing Jaylen Brown could be the kind of player that can get this deal done as soon as possible.
Brown is now through six seasons in the NBA and is starting to emerge as one of the better two-way talents out on the wing. After averaging a career-high 24.7 points per game and shooting a career-high 48.4% from the floor during the 2020-21 season, Jaylen Brown averaged 23.6 points per game and shot 47.3% from the floor during the 2021-22 season, helping the Celtics reach the NBA Finals.
Being included in recent trade rumors for Kevin Durant obviously frustrates Jaylen Brown and it appears that he has no intentions of leaving the Boston Celtics anytime soon.
Recently, The Athletic’s Jared Weiss, who covers the team, wrote that sources familiar with Brown’s thinking have stated that the Celtics’ All-Star wants to be in Boston and has no interest in being involved in these recent trade rumors. Weiss also stated that many tend to believe that the Nets are “looking to drive the market” in regards to Durant trades by pushing the Boston Celtics into the conversation.
Making it to the NBA Finals is no small feat and being where they were midseason, nobody thought that Boston actually had a chance to make The Finals, yet alone the playoffs at the rate they were going!
Jayson Tatum is only 24-years-old, Jaylen Brown is only 25-years-old and the Celtics have turned themselves into one of the best defensive teams in the league not only with these two young stars, but with key talents like Marcus Smart, Robert Williams III, Derrick White and others.
Now adding Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari in the offseason, the Celtics have set themselves up for even more success given that they now have the depth that they were missing the last few seasons.
The Celtics were two wins away from claiming their 18th championship in team history. Maybe having Kevin Durant instead of Jaylen Brown in this series against the Golden State Warriors would have been enough to get Boston over the hump and at least force a decisive Game 7, but the thing here with trading for Durant from the Celtics’ perspective is the other assets they would have to give up.
Marcus Smart, multiple first-round picks and possibly another talent like Grant Williams along with Jaylen Brown would have to go to Brooklyn and at that point, is the trade really worth it?
Kevin Durant is a sensational talent, but Boston has a good thing going for themselves right now and after all, they did just sweep Durant and the Brooklyn Nets in the first-round of the playoffs this past season.
Jaylen Brown is happy where he is in Boston right now and the last thing the Celtics need to do is begin to ruin this relationship, especially with Brown approaching a possible contract extension heading into the 2022-23 season.
