Jaylen Brown has been at the center of offseason trade buzz for weeks, and while Celtics execs have been quick to cool the noise, it may not be going away any time soon.
“Those two guys are really, really great NBA players, and there hasn’t been anything close to serious about trading them,” Celtics VP of Basketball Operations Mike Zarren said of Brown and Derrick White.
“I’m not sure where all this reporting came from but those guys are key parts of our team, and we’re lucky to have them here,” according to Brian Robb.
Still, the possibility of Brown being moved isn’t off the table. One unexpected team could make things interesting, according to insider Zach Lowe.
“I get the sense there was real smoke, there was something going on,” Lowe said on his podcast. “That something maybe has subsided. I said last week that I would bet on (White and Brown) being on the Celtics next year but I’m not slamming the door shut on some team, the Kings come to mind, being like, we’ll offer you everything, all the swaps, all the picks, whatever you want for Jaylen Brown and at least making the Celtics think about it.”
The Kings have already shown interest in Boston pieces earlier this offseason.
Sacramento recently moved on from De’Aaron Fox and hired Scott Perry as general manager, suggesting a full reshaping is underway. Brown could be the centerpiece they’re after.
“Any deal would need to be centered around one big salary player such as Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis or DeMar DeRozan for salary matching purposes,” according to Robb.
