The Boston Celtics dangled Jaylen Brown in their trade offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Milwaukee Bucks chose to ultimately accept a better package from the Miami Heat, and now Boston either has to mend fences with their 2024 NBA Finals MVP, or find another trade partner.
Brown is coming off arguably the best season of his career, where he earned Second-Team All-NBA honors for powering the Celtics to 56 wins despite top teammate Jayson Tatum missing most of the season. The Celtics apparently think they need to go in a new direction after a first-round playoff exit, and Brown’s age and contract might also have something to do with it. Brown turns 30 years old in October, and he has three years, $183 million left on his deal.
It feels like the Celtics are motivated to trade Brown, and there should be a robust market for his services. Here are six fake trade ideas to get Brown to a different home.
Celtics get: Donovan Clingan, Jerami Grant, Kris Murray, 2027 first-round pick
Trail Blazers get: Jaylen Brown
The Celtics reportedly want a big man in return for Brown. Would Donovan Clingan be good enough to suffice? Clingan is much younger and cheaper at 22 years old with two years left on his rookie contract. He’s one of the best young rim protectors in the game, but he doesn’t have a lot of offensive utility outside of crushing the glass, and he hasn’t been able to handle a heavy minutes load dating back to his college career. Grant feels like a bad contract, but he could give the Celtics some of what they’re losing in Brown in the short term. I kind of like this trade.
Celtics get: Alperen Sengun, Dorian Finney-Smith
Rockets get: Jaylen Brown
There aren’t many bigs better than Alperen Sengun who could potentially be attainable this offseason. Sengun is already a proven scorer as he enters his age-24 season, and he’s started to make some strides as an outside shooter and defender. Sengun is also on a very team-friendly contract for the next four seasons. This trade would also reunite Brown with his former coach Ime Udoka. Houston probably has to include a first-round pick here, but I’d like this deal a lot for Boston if the Rockets were willing to play ball.
Celtics get: Evan Mobley, Max Strus
Cavs get: Jaylen Brown, Baylor Scheierman
The Celtics would do this trade yesterday if Cleveland would accept it. I’m thinking the Cavs say no here. Mobley hasn’t really taken an offensive leap like I thought he would the last two seasons, but he remains one of the best and most versatile 7-foot defenders in the league. Mobley just turned 25 years old, and I’m still not ready to rule out him taking an offensive leap one day. If the Cavs think Jarrett Allen can hang as the lone big on the floor, this trade would make some sense, but I just don’t think Cleveland wants to trade Mobley yet.
Celtics get: Anthony Davis, Tre Johnson, 2031 first-round pick
Wizards get: Jaylen Brown
Anthony Davis is still one of the better bigs in the world … when he’s healthy enough to play. Davis is 33 years old, and his contract is similar to Brown’s but one year shorter. The Wizards also include last year’s No. 6 overall pick Tre Johnson in the deal. Johnson is a wicked shooter off the ball who would likely feel at home in Joe Mazzulla’s system. Let’s throw in a future first-round pick, too. The Wizards already have No. 1 overall pick A.J. Dybantsa, and probably don’t want a similar, older player in Brown. Still, Washington is clearly trying to win now after the ridiculous Trae Young extension, and this could be a good value play with Davis’ constant injury issues.
Celtics get: Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Khaman Maluach, 2033 first-round pick
Suns get: Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser
I was super high on Khaman Maluach entering the 2025 NBA Draft, but he had a very quiet rookie season. If the Celtics believed in Maluach’s future, this would be the type of high risk, high reward move that could set up Boston well for its next era. Dillon Brooks could immediately slot into Brown’s role on the wing, and Jalen Green adds some volatile offensive firepower with two years remaining on his deal. Throw in a 2033 first-round pick, and I feel like this is a somewhat realistic match, although it’s probably not enough for the Celtics.
Celtics get: Trey Murphy III, Derik Queen, Dejounte Murray
Pelicans get: Jaylen Brown
This trade gets the Celtics a young big man with real upside plus one of the best wing shooters in the league. Trey Murphy is a coveted offseason trade target for a lot of teams because of his off-ball scoring, and he would be a nice get in any potential Brown trade. Derik Queen is a young big man with on-ball creation potential and three years left on his rookie deal even if he’s a poor defender right now. Dejounte Murray is included to match salaries, and he was a good player at his peak who might finally be fully healthy next season. I’m not sure if New Orleans would be willing to include Queen after mortgaging their future to get him a year ago, but I think it makes some sense for both sides.
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