The rumors of a potential Celtics-Nets trade that would have swapped Jaylen Brown for Kevin Durant were exhausting.
It seemed as though Boston and Brooklyn were engaged in on-and-off talks to trade the two superstars from the moment the Celtics lost the 2022 NBA Finals all the way up to the 2023 NBA trade deadline. The idea of the trade was a polarizing one for fans in New England, as they either wanted the Celtics to make a major splash or were nervous about breaking up the core of Brown and Jayson Tatum so early.
You can count Brown as one of those with nerves.
The two-time NBA All-Star spoke about his thoughts on the potential trade, and what he did to make himself comfortable, in an interview with Logan Murdock of The Ringer.
Here's a snippet of what Murdock wrote:
"(KD) and JT are friends. They was working out together and whatnot," Brown says. "So, I wasn't sure what the energy was. I wasn't sure what the direction of the organization was."
Puzzled, Brown placed a three-way call to (Brad) Stevens and Tatum. During that discussion, Stevens says he assured Brown that the guard wasn't going anywhere. "You just have to have a direct conversation," Stevens tells me of the meeting. "And you just have to be able to say, 'This is what's real. This is where we are. Obviously, you and Jayson are the two guys that we've built the whole roster around. And our every expectation is for us to come and compete together and try to be two games better than we were last year.' "
That call obviously was placed to help ease Brown's anxiety's about the situation, but likely served as a reminder to Stevens and Tatum about just how good they had it. Durant would eventually be sent out west to the Phoenix Suns, essentially sealing this round of Brown-related trade rumors.
Well, maybe not.
