New Jaylen Brown Trade Rumors on Surprise Teams Joining Clippers, Nuggets & More Eyeing Celtics Star

The Boston Celtics don't appear to be lacking options as they mull trading star Jaylen Brown.

HoopsHype's Michael Scotto reported Sunday the Toronto Raptors, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets and Atlanta Hawks have all shown some level of interest in Brown.

Scotto previously reported this month the Los Angeles Clippers have the five-time All-Star on their radar. On Saturday, The Stein Line's Marc Stein and Jake Fischer wrote the Denver Nuggets have thrown around the idea internally as well. Stein also said the Portland Trail Blazers are "most frequently described as actively pursuing Boston's Jaylen Brown" in a report from Saturday.

Somewhat helpfully, Scotto reported the New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic aren't signaling a desire to enter the Brown sweepstakes. That's at least three teams to take off the board.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Thursday the Celtics "remain actively engaged" in trade discussions centered around the 2024 NBA Finals MVP after having included him in an offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

The sheer volume of rumors at this point could force Boston's hand somewhat. Brown was floated as a possible trade chip for years before the franchise finally got over the hump. Nobody would blame him if he started to feel alienated now that the conversation is coming up again.

Granted, the Celtics can't afford to trade Brown for the sake of trading him and take a step backward.

According to Scotto, the Blazers aren't yet willing to part with All-Star forward Deni Avdija, though they'd be more open to including Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe. Boston, for its part, would likely aim to get Donovan Clingan and/or Toumani Camara plus whatever other assets.

The Hornets have an intriguing piece they could send to the Celtics thanks to their reported trade of star guard LaMelo Ball. Naz Reid is coming back in that deal, and The Athletic's Jon Krawczynski reported he was an earlier target for Boston in a hypothetical Brown trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Charlotte's "exploratory conversations" on its own deal for Brown had Reid getting rerouted to the Celtics, per Scotto. Miles Bridges would have to be in the swap for salary-matching purposes.

Boston president of basketball operations Brad Stevens will probably struggle to leverage Brown for a star of Antetokounmpo's level moving forward this summer. There isn't another marquee name who's readily available in the same way Giannis was.

Given where Brown's market currently stands, the Celtics should still be able to wind up with a good haul if this happens.