Jaylen Brown has become one of the premier two-way players in the NBA. In the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, it would be safe to say that it was Brown who stepped up and carried the Boston Celtics. His teammate, Celtics’ No. 1 option, and budding superstar Jayson Tatum couldn’t get it going on the biggest stage, and the team ended up leaning on Brown even though he couldn’t do enough to win them the championship.
Despite this, Brown was on the trading block earlier this offseason, if reports are to be believed. With Kevin Durant available, Brad Stevens reportedly saw his chance, and Brown became the centerpiece of the Celtics’ offer. The star was less than thrilled when this news came out, even though it later came out that he was still happy in Boston. Since then, though, questions have been raised about whether he might eventually leave.
And an anonymous Eastern Conference executive has spoken about the one team that could be seriously interested in taking Brown away from the Celtics. The Atlanta Hawks, who made a move and acquired Dejounte Murray recently, are supposedly looking to add even more two-way players to their roster. The executive’s words were reported by Sean Deveney of Heavy.com.
“They’ve been after more two-way players in recent years because signing up a few big names around Trae Young has not worked out. We’ll have to see what they do with (De’Andre) Hunter and (Onyeka) Okongwu because they will need extensions but if they can clear out the room, that’s probably the biggest team to worry the Celtics,” an Eastern Conference executive told Deveney.
Brown is an Atlanta native, and the lure of going home is always a strong one when it comes to professional sports and where athletes end up playing. Jaylen seems like a cornerstone of this Celtics team, and this news might have seemed bizarre after the Finals run, but the team has made it clear that they don’t consider him untouchable if the right opportunity comes along.
And Brown will also be an unrestricted free agent in 2024 unless he signs an extension with Boston. This means that at the end of next season, he will have just one year left on his contract, opening up all sorts of possibilities. If the Hawks do want to get him, they could make all sorts of moves in the coming years. Whether he would leave the Celtics or not, remains to be seen.
