After a dramatic trade saga for Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two time MVP was traded last night, along with Bobby Portis to the Miami Heat for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr, Kasparas Jakucionis, the 13th pick, 2 future FRP’s, 1 future pick swap, and a future second round pick.
According to Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports, Haslam preferred the Heat's offer over the Boston Celtics' offer due to the possibility of Jaylen Brown asking for a trade in the near future.
This likely played a big factor in the Bucks choosing the Heat’s offer over the Celtics. As good of a player and asset that Brown is, if he requests a trade out of Milwaukee that would’ve dramatically lowered his value in any trade.
What’s next for the Celtics?
With Brown being officially offered in 2022 for Kevin Durant and now this year for Giannis Antetokounmpo that could cause some friction between him and the Celtics. If the Celtics have gotten any indication that he may requests a trade in the future then they have to trade Brown, while his value is still at an all-time high.
If they do feel confident in Jaylen Brown’s relationship with the Celtics then they could still explore trades for Brown if they believe the deal makes sense and makes them all-around better.
The Blazers have shown interest in Brown, but they were mainly brought up as a third team involved in a potential Giannis trade where the Blazers would’ve sent the Bucks’ 2028-2030 picks back to them. Other than that I don’t think a package of Sharpe, Grant, Scoot, and picks is intriguing enough for the Celtics to trade Brown for.
Other teams that have been reported to have interest in Jaylen Brown this offseason were the Hawks, Clippers, Pelicans.
If the Hawks are desperate enough they would probably be able to offer the best package for Jaylen Brown. The Celtics would probably want Nickeil Alexander Walker, Onyeka Okongwu, and the 8th pick in a package for Brown. Kuminga would also have to be included to make the money work. This would give the Celtics a top 8 consisting of Pritchard, White, Tatum, Kuminga, Okongwu, Walker, Hauser, and Queta. (Also doesn’t include the 8th pick who they could flip with White or Kuminga for an even better player like Trey Murphy.)
The Clippers could offer a package consisting of Kawhi and the 5th pick, but I’m not sure how much the Celtics would be willing to deal with Kawhi’s injury concerns.
With the Celtics reportedly having interest in Trey Murphy and the Pelicans having interest in Jaylen Brown, a Jaylen Brown for Trey Murphy packaged deal makes some sense. The real question is what would be included besides Trey Murphy in a deal for Giannis. The Pelicans would likely offer Murphy, and Poole/Dejounte, and picks in a deal for Brown. If I’m the Celtics, the conversation starts at Trey Murphy and Zion Williamson. The biggest wild card in this deal would be Zion because If he stays healthy him and Murphy could give you better production than just Giannis, while also extending your championship window and maintaining control over your draft picks. Zion and Queta could be an awkward fit in the starting front court, so the Celtics could explore trading for Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart in a package centered around Sam Hauser. Stewart gives the Celtics more of a defensive presence with an improved three point shot that would almost certainly improve in the Celtics system.
The Celtics could also explore bringing guys like Anfernee Simons or Robert Williams III back on the non-tax payer MLE, but potential trades could heavily influence what they decide to do with it.