Following the injury to Jayson Tatum in the 2025 NBA Playoffs, the Celtics’ championship window seemed to have closed down. Now, at the beginning of the offseason, it seems like they have decided to blow it all up and rebuild for the time when Tatum returns.
Alongside Tatum, the franchise cornerstone has always been Jaylen Brown. But according to sources, the Celtics are even listening to offers for him. They already traded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis and are now looking to even trade the former Finals MVP, Brown. While discussing the impact of Jrue Holiday’s trade on both teams, Shams Charania made a major revelation on the Stephen A. Smith show.
“But for the Celtics, this is the start of a very active off-season.”
“The Celtics prefer not to trade Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. But listen, the offers that they’re getting right now, and the conversations are going to be had, ‘does it reach the value?’ and that’s the question. So you’re looking at a lot of potential movement around the Celtics, and last night was just the start of that.”
“There are multiple teams that have a significant interest in Jaylen Brown. And you think about, for sure, the contract is steep, I understand it. But listen, there are teams, especially in today’s NBA, especially in the Eastern Conference, and now what we’re seeing in the Western Conference too, it’s an arms race in the West. So even if you’re a team that’s meddling in the playoffs, you’re trying to get there, you’re trying to make a swing. And I think what we’re going to see now in both conferences is a lot of activity.”
The Celtics are aggressively looking to move up in the NBA Draft and enter a lottery position, i.e, get a top-15 pick in the draft. They currently have the 28th pick in the first round and the 32nd pick in the second round in the upcoming draft. Therefore, they do not have the assets to convince another team to trade based on picks alone.
Shams Charania then appeared with Scott Van Pelt on ESPN to give a further update on the Jaylen Brown situation.
“Them phone lines are ringing in Boston. My understanding is the Celtics are getting offers, calls on both Jaylen Brown and Derrick White. The Celtics have a high price threshold for both players; they know how great Jaylen Brown and Derrick White are. I’m sure they’re getting some massive offers, some big-time calls as well. Their preference has been to keep both players.”
“They are listening, but will a team get there?”
Hence, we expect that in a move up the draft, they will have to include a star player as well in the deal, which could be Brown, looking at the circumstances. We may hear the massive trade news on him within the next 24 hours.
It is important to consider that trading for Brown includes taking on a whopping $304 million contract as well. Therefore, mostly first-apron teams are likely to be making a move for Brown.
Some potential landing spots could include the Philadelphia 76ers, who have the No. 3 pick in the draft and could send Joel Embiid the other way, and the San Antonio Spurs, who were in the sweepstakes for Kevin Durant until they pulled out of the race.
Since the Celtics traded their starting center, they now need a high-level center to replace him, and Embiid may be the solution to that. The 76ers were reportedly looking to trade their No. 3 pick after Ace Bailey refused to work out with them.
Whereas with Chris Paul on the way out of the Spurs, they need a veteran alongside Victor Wembanyama and the young core to potentially make them serious Playoff contenders this season.
