Windhorst: Jaylen Brown Was Discussed in Celtics-Rockets James Harden Trade Talks

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown reportedly came up "loosely" in James Harden trade talks with the Houston Rockets.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN said on his Hoop Collective podcast (around 16:40 mark) that the Rockets and Celtics had a couple of conversations, and Brown was mentioned as a potential target. It does not appear there was anything nearing a formal offer from Boston, and it's unclear if the Celtics would have been willing to part with Brown if discussions got more serious.

The Rockets acquired four first-round picks, four pick swaps, Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum and Rodions Kurucs as part of a four-team trade that sent Harden to Brooklyn last week. 

Houston appeared to desire future draft pick compensation more than a surefire young star. It's known the Rockets were in negotiations with the Philadelphia 76ers that would likely have included Ben Simmons, a player with a stronger NBA resume than Brown. It does not appear likely the Rockets would have accepted a trade centered around Brown without a significant haul of draft picks, making a Boston-Houston match untenable.

“I'll say what’s super exciting about this deal is it gives us flexibility. In the NBA, picks, especially high picks, are the best currency...it gave us the flexibility to do different types of deals as they come up this year, next year, whenever," Rockets general manager Rafael Stone told reporters last week. 

Brown is in the middle of his finest NBA season, averaging 25.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists while remaining a stellar defender on the perimeter. Still only 24 years old, there's an argument to be made the Celtics are wise to have kept him to build around Brown and Jayson Tatum rather than blow up their future for a two-year window around Harden.