Celtics Rumors: Jaylen Brown Trade Realistic, Could Command Kevin Durant-Level Return

Jaylen Brown may not be an untouchable piece of the Boston Celtics' long-term plans as he awaits his massive payday, according to The Ringer's Howard Beck.

Brown's five-year, $286.2 million extension starts in 2024-25. With that in mind, Beck wrote how Boston "will eventually have to confront the financial realities of the new CBA," so a trade involving the three-time All-Star can't be ruled out entirely.

Beck cited a Western Conference executive who said Brown "would set the record for the biggest return" and command a "a Durant-type deal." He described that kind of haul as "multiple first-round picks and swaps, plus high-level rotation players."

Beck did caution that "no one is predicting Brown will be moved this summer."

Brown was a somewhat frequent topic of speculation over the last few years. In the event the Celtics were to make a blockbuster trade, he was a more obvious candidate to include over Jayson Tatum. Agreeing to that supermax extension seemed to put the issue to bed, though.

Based on the team's performance, there isn't a need to do something as drastic as moving the 27-year-old, either. Boston has the NBA's best record (42-12) and is first in net rating (plus-9.5), per NBA.com. The Celtics have to be considered the 2024 championship favorites right now.

Having said all of that, Brown's scoring (22.0 points) and rebounding (5.5 boards) are both down from last year, and his 54.9 percent effective field-goal rate is right around his career average (54.4).

His production on its own doesn't necessarily scream "supermax player," and we're not even to the postseason yet, where his flaws have been exposed in the past.

Looking toward the future, it's plausible that Boston could reach a point where paying Brown nearly $60 million annually is no longer the best use of its salary cap space.

In addition, nobody truly knows how the new, more restrictive collective bargaining agreement is going to impact roster-building. Maybe the pendulum shifts even further away from loading up on stars at the expense of depth.

Absent his value on the court cratering, dealing Brown would be a way for the Celtics to become less top-heavy yet remain a legitimate contender.