Celtics

Report: Celtics would have ‘zero interest’ in Jaylen Brown for Kevin Durant swap

Published by
Orel Dizon

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.

Orel Dizon

Orel's passion for sports stems from following Michael Jordan’s last title runs with the Chicago Bulls and his namesake Orel Hershiser’s Cleveland Indians tenure in the late 1990s.

Published by
Orel Dizon

Recent Posts

‘Wtf’: Trae Young reacts to Rashad McCants saying he could score 81 points like Kobe Bryant

Back in January of 2006, former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant put on one…

2 hours ago

Rashad McCants says he could’ve won ROTY but had a coach who was ‘shaking in the motherf——g huddle’

Former NBA guard Rashad McCants was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the last lottery…

2 hours ago

Chandler Parsons says Jaylen Brown would be best player on over half of NBA teams, including some playoff teams

The Boston Celtics were without maybe their top player for Wednesday's Game 2 versus the…

2 hours ago

‘Spo gonna Spo’: Cavs player gives Erik Spoelstra his flowers after Heat’s near-upset in Game 2

The odds were stacked against the Miami Heat to pick up a win in Game…

2 hours ago

Report: Will Campbell landing with Patriots may depend on whether team gets ‘fair deal’ to trade down

As a consolation prize for a woeful 2024 season that was marred by losing, the…

2 hours ago

Report: ‘Most of the league’ has been contacted about Jalen Ramsey, including Rams, Lions and Eagles

Miami Dolphins cornerback Jalen Ramsey is one of the more notable players in the league…

2 hours ago