NBA Insider Names Spurs as Potential Jaylen Brown Landing Spot amid Trade Rumors
The San Antonio Spurs have long been rumored to be interested in trading for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, but one insider suggested that they could pursue another star player this offseason.
Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has been speculated to be a trade candidate because of the team's desperate need to shed salary, and Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated said Wednesday on NBC Sports Boston's The Off C'season special that the Spurs could be a potential landing spot for him.
"The team I'd watch the closest with Jaylen Brown is probably the Spurs," Mannix said, per NBC Sports Boston's Justin Leger. "Sure, I think (the Spurs would) love to make a run at Giannis, but do the Bucks ask for Stephon Castle? Like, is that on their wish list? And if it is, I can't see San Antonio doing a deal like that."
Castle is the reigning NBA Rookie of the Year and a key member of the Spurs' young core alongside star center Victor Wembanyama. San Antonio has the No. 2 pick in the 2025 NBA draft and could add another young talent to its roster, but some feel the franchise could look to trade the pick for an established star.
Mannix went on to explain that acquiring a player like Antetokounmpo would cost much more than acquiring Brown, and it would create a championship window that throws off the Spurs' timeline of building around Wembanyama.
"It certainly is a problem for another day, but that's on the mind of the San Antonio Spurs. That's why they want to hold on to Stephon Castle, so he can be that second guy opposite Wembanyama for a long time, assuming they trade that No. 2 pick," Mannix said.
Mannix went on to add: "I think if you're Boston, you're not going to ask for a Stephon Castle. You're not going to get a Stephon Castle in a potential Jaylen Brown deal. You would get the No. 2 pick back in return. You would get the Devin Vassells, the Keldon Johnsons, future first-round capital. That's something I'd watch if and when the Giannis Antetokounmpo stuff shakes itself out over the next few weeks."
