In the past offseason, there were plenty of trade rumors surrounding Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant.
One of the lingering trade rumors involved the Boston Celtics and their young star Jaylen Brown. The Celtics were even seemingly the unofficial frontrunners at one point in the Durant sweepstakes.
However, that time is long gone as Boston would not even consider giving Brown away in a potential Durant swap, according to an anonymous Eastern Conference executive.
“Oh, it would be zero interest from the Celtics, that would be a non-starter,” the East exec told Heavy.com. “Brown’s an All-Star and he’s eight years younger than K.D. (who is 34). The team’s playing well, they’re not going to touch that. I am sure it will be talked about again, and maybe the Celtics will struggle and things can change. But that would be shocking.”
There was a time when several teams would’ve vied for Durant’s services and taken part in a bidding war in order to acquire the former MVP. But given the off-court drama that has been hounding him recently, the number of franchises that would be willing to unload most of their assets to deal for Durant has likely dwindled.
In addition, the 12-time All-Star is already 34 years old, which should make other teams wary about trading for him.
There is no doubt that Durant can still perform at a high level. This season, he is averaging 30.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists per contest. However, the question that abounds is if it’s worth giving up a young star for another star that is likely at the tail end of his prime.
For the Celtics, it might be a no-brainer. Holding onto Brown makes more sense for the team because that would give them the opportunity to contend for the NBA title for many more years.
Last season, Boston reached the championship series against the Golden State Warriors. In the six-game series, the 26-year-old posted averages of 23.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists per contest. If it weren’t for Brown, the Celtics might have been eliminated earlier, especially since Jayson Tatum struggled from the field, converting just 36.7 percent of his shot attempts.
So far in the 2022-23 campaign, Brown is again proving his value to the franchise. He is averaging 25.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per match, both career-highs. He has also been instrumental in the team’s rise to the top of the East a few weeks into the season.
