Jaylen Brown to the Hornets? Zach Lowe Shoots Down Hypothetical Celtics Trade

The Charlotte Hornets have a wealth of assets if they want to go for a big trade this offseason. Clearly, they believe they are on the way after extending Charles Lee just two seasons into his first head coach job. Does that mean they want to go all-in in 2026-27?

Probably not, given ownership's recent comments about how this team would've struggled in the playoffs. That does suggest the need for more, but it doesn't imply a rushed move to try and accelerate things.

Hornets owners Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin spoke to the media for the first time in a while, discussing the season, progress, and the future at a ceremony for the state-of-the-art 160,000-square-foot Novant Health Performance Center, set to be completed in the spring of 2027. pic.twitter.com/R51p7pmX8a
— CLTure® ( culture ) (@CLTure) May 4, 2026

However, it is certainly possible, and a big move under the right circumstances could absolutely propel the Hornets to new heights. What about Jaylen Brown? The star guard could be on his way out of Boston after his recent comments about this season being his favorite, probably because he was the team's leader.

Zach Lowe wondered about the Hornets as a possible trade destination. But in all the attempts he made to try and figure out a trade that makes sense for both parties, it just didn't work out. The Celtics won't want the assets the Hornets are willing to move, and the Hornets won't move the assets the Celtics would want.

🎙️ @ZachLowe_NBA on potential Jaylen Brown trades:

"I tried with Charlotte, just because I do think Charlotte has a ton of stuff and they're clearly ripe for a little bit of a win-now move... but I'm not parting out of my; I'm not doing Knueppel, I'm not doing Miller. LaMelo, I… pic.twitter.com/3cEdhITa08
— r/CharlotteHornets (@HornetsReddit) May 7, 2026

"I tried with Charlotte, just because I do think Charlotte has a ton of stuff and they're clearly ripe for a little bit of a win-now move," Lowe said. "I'm not parting out of my; I'm not doing Knueppel, I'm not doing Miller. LaMelo, I don't know that Boston is gonna be interested in that. I'm not messing with what happened in Charlotte."

The Hornets won't and shouldn't even consider moving Kon Knueppel, LaMelo Ball, or Brandon Miller. Not even for Jaylen Brown. The only other way to make it work is to part with an unholy amount of first-round picks, and that's not ideal, either.

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drive the ball against Charlotte Hornets forward Moussa Diabate | David Butler II-Imagn Images

Brown would make the Hornets better, but he's a guard. The biggest issues with this team are in the frontcourt, and he doesn't solve that. Even if they could make a deal that works with the contracts of Josh Green, Miles Bridges, and Grant Williams, the Hornets don't have a better roster construction than before this hypothetical trade.

Instead, they have to force Miller, in all likelihood, to play the four and run a wing trio of Ball, Knueppel, and Brown. It wouldn't be ideal, and the depth would be toast. The only other way to make this deal and not deplete the depth is to include a core player, and that's just not happening.

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