Subscribe
Follow Us
The Boston Celtics have had a very successful past few months. They went on an unbelievable tear after an 18-21 start to the 2021-22 season, and ended up making it all the way to the NBA Finals as a result. Although they came up short, Boston's front office has made some really solid moves on the trade market and in free agency to strengthen their team heading into the 2022-23 season.
Despite that, President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens doesn't appear content with the Celtics squad as it currently is. Reports have come out that claim Boston has emerged as a serious contender in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes, and have been willing to part with Jaylen Brown in a potential trade for Durant.
This was a shocking result considering how close the C's came to winning it all last season. Brown was a huge part of Boston's season long success, but that apparantly hasn't bought him enough goodwill from the front office. If the front office needs any reminder, here are three reasons they shouldn't involve Brown in any trade for Kevin Durant.
Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)
3 reasons why the Boston Celtics shouldn't trade Jaylen Brown for Kevin Durant
3. The Celtics nearly won the Finals last season
As previously mentioned, the Celtics came two wins away from a championship last season. Brown played a big role in that. After being told for pretty much his entire career that he and fellow star forward Jayson Tatum couldn't win together, Boston's young duo proved everyone wrong with their insane run to the Finals.
Why would the front office feel the urge to break up that duo just as they appear to be figuring everything out? The Celtics roster, aside from adding Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari, is largely unchanged. With those two key additions, they probably have the deepest roster in the entire league.
Building off the team that came up just short last season feels like the smarter move for Boston. Durant is a better player than Brown right now, yes, but the Celtics had a good thing going for them last season, and it seems reasonable to expect them to keep it going next season too. Breaking it up by trading Brown just doesn't seem like a good move for the C's.
2. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown enjoy playing together
Article Continues Below
Despite what others may say, Tatum and Brown enjoy playing together. They have reinforced this as much as possible to the media, and they finally put everything together last season to prove their haters wrong. Why take Tatum's partner-in-crime away from him after they managed to make it to the Finals last season?
It's worth noting that Tatum and Durant are friends too from their time playing together with Team USA. But Tatum and Brown have five seasons of experience playing together, whereas Tatum and Durant only have a few games of experience playing with each other. This means that Tatum, and really Boston's offense as a whole, would have to adapt to playing with Durant rather than Brown.
That's something they may be able to do, but again, it feels like a forced move. How would Tatum feel about having to take a backseat to Durant in the offense, whereas he's the top option now among him and Brown? The two stars Boston currently have on their roster enjoy playing together, and as the old saying goes, “if it ain't broke, don't fix it”.
1. Jaylen Brown is younger than Kevin Durant
The biggest reason the Celtics shouldn't trade Brown for Durant is simple; Brown is 25 years old, Durant is 33. Durant is the better player now, but how much longer will he be better than Brown? He will regress eventually, and while acquiring Durant now may widen Boston's current championship window, it would destroy their future.
Brown has already proven to be a star in the NBA, and he's probably not even in his prime yet. Boston's playoff run showed that Brown still has room to improve when it comes to his dribbling and playmaking abilities, but everyone seems to forget how young he still is. On the other hand, Durant is probably on the verge of exiting his prime. It may work this season, but Durant is entering the twilight of his career.
The Celtics could enhance their championship odds for the upcoming season by acquiring Durant, but they would decrease their odds for each future season by trading Brown. There are some reasons for Boston to consider trading Brown for Durant, but the negatives outweigh the positives pretty handily here. The Celtics would be making a huge mistake trading Brown for Durant, and they should stay away from the Nets superstar as long as the asking price involves Brown.
