New Jaylen Brown Trade Rumors Reveal Celtics' Evan Mobley Interest amid 'Incoming' Calls

Despite coming up short in their attempt to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Boston Celtics are still using Jaylen Brown as a potential trade candidate as they look to shake up their roster.

Appearing on NBC Sports Boston (starts at 3:17 mark), Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix explained there are still "incoming" calls to the Celtics from teams wanting to discuss a Brown trade.

Mannix added that people around the NBA are keeping an eye on the Cleveland Cavaliers and Evan Mobley as a potential match for a Brown trade.

"The name that I have been hearing connected to the Celtics most often over the last 24 hours, or at least after the Giannis deal fell apart, is Evan Mobley in Cleveland," Mannix said.

It's unclear if this is a deal the two teams have discussed, but Mannix also pointed out it would be "complicated" to pull off because of the Cavaliers' financial situation right now.

The Cavs are projected to be over the second apron as presently constructed, though there are ways to help them get under the threshold. They did save themselves money during the draft by trading the No. 29 pick to the Sacramento Kings for two second-rounders,

The 29th pick is owed a guaranteed salary of $2.9 million next season. Second-round picks can sign for a minimum salary of $1.35 million or a two-way deal that doesn't count against the cap.

One that has been suggested by ESPN's Brian Windhorst is James Harden turns down his $42.3 million player option to sign a new deal that lowers his 2026-27 salary.

But even if the Cavs do that with a Harden deal, Dean Wade is also set to become a free agent and projected to make $10-12 million annually on his next deal.

If the Cavaliers can move down into the first apron, it will give them slightly more flexibility to aggregate contracts for salary matching. Mobley will earn $50.1 million next season, compared to $57.1 million for Brown.

Brown's future with the Celtics has been a major topic since their season ended with a first-round playoff loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. They reportedly offered him and two future first-round picks for Antetokounmpo before the Milwaukee Bucks accepted a package from the Miami Heat.

Even with their failed pursuit of Antetokounmpo, the Celtics might not be done exploring the market for Brown as they look for ways to improve their roster.

The Cavs, despite making a run to the Eastern Conference Finals, don't look particularly close to winning a title as presently constructed after playing two seven-game series against the Toronto Raptors and Detroit Pistons before being swept by the New York Knicks.

If the Cavaliers can find a way to add Brown to a group that already includes Harden and Donovan Mitchell, they should be better positioned to challenge the top-tier teams in the East.