When news first surfaced that Kevin Durant had requested a trade from the Brooklyn Nets, he revealed that the Phoenix Suns and Miami Heat were atop his personal list. The Suns, however, matched the Pacers' offer sheet for Deandre Ayton. That all but took them out of the running for Durant. The Heat have their own complications as to why a trade to Miami has not come to fruition. That left the Boston Celtics as a potential landing spot. The key piece if that trade were to happen would have to involve Jaylen Brown.
The Celtics reportedly offered Brown, along with Derrick White and a couple of draft picks for Durant. Brooklyn countered insisting that Marcus Smart and a couple more picks would be needed to make a deal happen. Boston scoffed at that idea, as Smart is the vocal leader of the team.
With so much riding on how the Durant situation plays out, NBA executives chimed on.
“Jaylen Brown is the single best player we’ve heard tied to this thing, so Brooklyn has to keep that alive,” a league executive told Heavy Sports.
Another league executive believes this process might take a long time. “Unless something comes out of nowhere that we haven’t heard or expected, we could be waiting this out,” he said. The source has heard that Brown is loyal and wants to stay with Boston beyond his current contract. But the Celtics are going to pay for it.
“I think Jaylen IS long term… If they want him long term and they’re going to pay him the contract he deserves, I think he’s all-in on Boston.”
Jaylen Brown was undeniably Boston's best player in the NBA Finals in June. He's 25 years old and will be looking for a large extension.
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