Warriors' Jaylen Brown Trade Pursuit Had One Clear Answer

The Golden State Warriors apparently could have had Jaylen Brown at this past season's trade deadline.

ESPN's Shams Charania said on Monday that the Warriors could have acquired Brown for "four first-round picks-ish." Of course, Brown ended up being traded to the 76ers a few weeks ago for a package headlined by Paul George and two first-round picks.

It's not clear what players the Warriors would have had to include to make the money work for a Brown trade, though the most obvious route would have been giving up Jimmy Butler.

Let's pretend that we know that the trade would have been unprotected first-round picks in 2026, 2028, 2030 (pre-existing protection from 21-30) and 2032 and Butler for Brown and salary filler.

The Warriors were right to not make that trade.

Brown Isn't Worth That Price

I've been clamoring for the Warriors to make a big trade. I wrote on Sunday that the Warriors should do anything they can to get Stephen Curry help "within reason," and until they do, Curry shouldn't sign an extension.

This would not be "within reason."

Trading four unprotected first-round picks should be reserved for superstars like Giannis Antetokounmpo.

By averaging 28.7 points per game last season, Brown might be mistakenly put in the superstar category by some.

But he doesn't have a superstar-like impact.

The Celtics were better with Brown off the floor each of the last four seasons, per Cleaning the Glass.

Part of the reason for that is Brown isn't a very efficient scorer. And his assist-to-turnover ratio is average as well.

Here are 2025-26 averages for some players I'd consider superstars worth at least four first-round picks and Brown:

Player	TS%	Assists	Turnovers	CTG Net Rating
SGA	.665	6.6	2.2	+11.7
Giannis	.658	5.4	3.2	+14.8
Doncic	.616	8.3	4.0	+4.9
Cunningham	.564	9.9	3.7	+6.1
Brown	.573	5.1	3.6	-5.6

You'll see that Brown is slightly more efficient that Cade Cunningham, but Cunningham's playmaking ability is so much better than Brown's that Cunningham is at least one tier higher in player rankings.

Add those efficiency and playmaking issues to the fact that Brown will make $57.7 million this season, $61.7 million next season and $65.6 million in 2028-29, and the Warriors were justified passing on this trade.

What Kind of Trade the Warriors Should Make

Considering his much better contract and more efficient scoring, Trey Murphy III is a better bet at a cost of three first-round picks than Brown is at four.

But the Warriors don't have to have tunnel vision for Murphy.

They should be looking for a talented under-30 player who could hit a new tier soon.

Murphy is the best example, but there could be any number of players who could cost one or two first-round picks who could break out with the Warriors this season.

The Dubs need general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. to make a bold move.

For example, when the Celtics traded one first-round pick and one first-round pick swap for Derrick White, at the time it looked like an overpay. But White has since been much more valuable than what the C's gave up for him.

The Warriors need to find the next White. That is how they can change the trajectory of their season.

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