The Boston Celtics have reportedly joined the pursuit of Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, centering their trade package around Jaylen Brown. The response has been anything but measured.
Brown sent out a tweet, NBA analysts poured cold water over the reports and members of the NBA world gave their opinions.
With all of the news to come out of the reports, there was wonder in how Brown himself felt about the idea of the Celtics using him as a trade chip. In an appearance on NBC Sports Boston, The Athletic’s Shams Charania — who was one of the insiders who leaked the initial report — helped shed light on what he’s heard in the aftermath.
“I haven’t heard anything about any type of displeasure that he’s had with the organization,” Charania said Monday. “In these last two-three years you’ve seen a lot of growth in the organization, when it comes to Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart. Just a couple years ago in the bubble, they had some very testy moments.
“So for them to go from that to being a couple wins away from an NBA Finals championship speaks to the growth of the organization. But I think overall, this is a team that I think has grown a lot and has a lot of growing to do. But I haven’t heard of any significant displeasure from Jaylen Brown or any type of requests from his side or anything like that, as of right now.”
Brown has long been subject to trade rumors, so the idea that Boston could dangle him in front of Brooklyn in a move for Kevin Durant likely isn’t all that shocking to the 25-year-old. Perhaps that explains why a source close to Brown reiterated that he loved Boston on Monday.
While Celtics fans have been split on whether or not they’d like Boston to split up their young tandem of Brown and Jayson Tatum, they will likely find solace in these reports.
