Jaylen Brown Reportedly Drawing 'Significant' Trade Interest from Multiple NBA Teams
The Boston Celtics already shipped away veteran point guard Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, and it sounds like other teams are trying to convince them to give up one of their star players.
During an appearance on Tuesday's episode of The Stephen A. Smith Show, ESPN's Shams Charania was asked about the trade interest for Celtics star guard Jaylen Brown, and he gave a definitive answer.
"There are multiple teams that have significant interest for Jaylen Brown," Charania said.
Charania made it clear that the Celtics "prefer not to trade" Brown or veteran guard Derrick White. Still, that hasn't stopped other teams from probing and presenting Boston with trade offers, and Charania noted that the franchise is now faced with a question of, "Does it reach the value" for Brown or White?
Brown is in the midst of a $304 million contract extension and will make $53.1 million in the 2025-26 season. However, Charania explained that his expensive price tag has not made teams shy away as they try to reload this offseason in hopes of competing for an NBA championship.
"For sure, the contract is steep, I understand it. But listen, there are teams in today's NBA, especially in the Eastern Conference, and now we're seeing it in the Western Conference, too; it's an arms race in the West," Charania said. "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 gonna see now in both conferences is a lot of activity."
The Celtics are likely to be without star forward Jayson Tatum for the entire 2025-26 season after he suffered a torn Achilles in the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks. Boston is staring at a very expensive future between Brown and Tatum's respective massive contracts.
It won't be easy, but perhaps a team will present the Celtics with a strong offer that convinces them to give up Brown and alleviate their impending financial strain.
