The Celtics might not have to do any damage control with Jaylen Brown.
Brown became one of the most popular topics of basketball conversation in the NBA offseason as the Kevin Durant saga unfolded. Boston reportedly was in the mix for Durant before he rescinded his Nets trade request, and it was clear that any Celtics trade package sent to Brooklyn would be centered around Brown. Given the caliber of player Brown is and how much he’s achieved in six seasons with Boston, it was fair to wonder if the ongoing chatter would fracture his relationship with the Celtics.
But according to C’s teammate Marcus Smart, Brown’s attitude toward his team hasn’t soured.
“(Brown’s) handled it great,” Smart recently told CLNS Media. “He walks around with a smile on his face. We actually haven’t even mentioned it when we were together. We were just talking about the upcoming season and getting ourselves ready, but he’s great. He’s handling it as professionally as he can and my advice is, to anybody, don’t forget it’s a business first. When you’re doing business, personal stuff has to go out the window and can’t be the issue, so you can’t look at it like that. If your name is up there in trade talks, I look at it as a compliment. It means teams want you. That’s a good thing. The problem is if your name is not (in rumors), nobody wants you. So that’s how I’m looking at it and that’s how people should look at it. It’s tough, I understand it, but just because it’s going on, you never know. Anything can happen.”
With a potential Durant trade now out of the question, the Celtics very well could try to sign Brown to a lucrative, long-term contract extension. It would be tough for Brown to turn down such a payday, but there’s also a chance he’s motivated to test free agency in two years.
