Not even Jaylen Brown is safe from trade talks this offseason as the Boston Celtics look to shed significant salary.
Just about everyone from the 2024 championship core is on the table with the C’s aiming to avoid the restrictive penalties associated with being in the second apron of the luxury tax. They will have to move at least one rotational player, but another option is to wipe the slate clean with a full reboot.
Brown, a four-time All-Star and 2024 NBA Finals MVP, has massive value if Boston opts to dangle him in trade discussions. Although sending Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a popular talking point, one up-and-coming Western Conference team seems like a more realistic trade partner.
“The team I’d watch the closest with Jaylen Brown is probably the Spurs,” Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated said Wednesday on NBC Sports Boston’s The OffC’season special. “Sure, I think (the Spurs would) love to make a run at Giannis, but do the Bucks ask for Stephon Castle? Like, is that on their wish list? And if it is, I can’t see San Antonio doing a deal like that.
“One of the concerns people in San Antonio told me about is, you go and deal for a guy like Giannis, all of a sudden you’ve created a championship window, but it is a window with a closing date. You’ve got De’Aaron Fox, who’s in his late 20s, Giannis in his early 30s, and the last thing they want is to have a roster after those guys kind of age out where when (Victor) Wembanyama is maybe looking around going, ‘Alright, where are the young guys I’m going to play with after that?’ It certainly is a problem for another day, but that’s on the mind of the San Antonio Spurs. That’s why they want to hold on to Stephon Castle, so he can be that second guy opposite Wembanyama for a long time, assuming they trade that number two pick.”
As Mannix puts it, the Celtics would be a more attractive trade partner for the Spurs because they likely wouldn’t require a player like Castle in return. Instead, the deal would center around the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft — likely Rutgers standout guard Dylan Harper.
“I think if you’re Boston, you’re not going to ask for a Stephon Castle. You’re not going to get a Stephon Castle in a potential Jaylen Brown deal,” Mannix added. “You would get the number two pick back in return. You would get the Devin Vassells, the Kelvin Johnsons, future first-round capital. That’s something I’d watch if and when the Giannis Antetokounmpo stuff shakes itself out over the next few weeks.”
Yahoo Sports NBA insider Kevin O’Connor asked Mannix whether the Spurs would put the No. 2 pick on the table for Brown in a potential swap.
“Oh, absolutely. I don’t think Boston does that deal without the number two pick,” Mannix answered. “I think Jaylen — for San Antonio — is worth giving up a player that most people talk about as a potential franchise guy in Dylan Harper.
“People that I talked to really like (Harper), but I think Jaylen Brown is — at his age with his contract status, his playoff pedigree — I think that’s worth it. And all of a sudden, you’ve got Fox, you’ve got Brown, you’ve got Castle, and you’ve got Wemby backstopping that team. That’s a championship contender in the Western Conference next season.”
It will be a fascinating offseason for the Celtics and unquestionably the most challenging yet for president of basketball operations Brad Stevens. Even if Brown stays put, Stevens will have to make some agonizing decisions this summer with other key players — perhaps as soon as this month, with the 2024 NBA Draft set for June 25.
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