Jaylen Brown reportedly knows that he isn’t untouchable in trade talks like Jayson Tatum is as he recently was in a package for Kevin Durant.
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The Kevin Durant saga with the Brooklyn Nets this past NBA offseason is what kept fans on the edge of their seats for nearly 2 straight months. Other than the Utah Jazz trading away their two franchise cornerstones in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, Durant wanting out was the one thing that kept summer of 2022 from being an absolute dud.
Several teams across the league from the Phoenix Suns to the Memphis Grizzlies believed they had a chance to snag KD. However, the franchise with perhaps the best package for the Brooklyn Nets was none other than the Boston Celtics.
Durant had flirted with going to the Celts during the 2016 offseason. 6 years later, the opportunity rose again. The package that Brad Stevens and company offers BKN centered around on man: Jaylen Brown.
Jaylen Brown does not take offense to Kevin Durant trade package involvement.
For the longest time, Danny Ainge placed Jaylen Brown in packages for NBA superstars. Both Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard were nearly brought into the fold with Brown being the center of the trade. Now, despite having been the best player for Boston in the 2022 NBA Finals, his name was once again used in a trade package.
Jared Weiss, who covers the Boston Celtics for ‘The Athletic’, was asked by HoopsHype about the Kevin Durant situation in regards to both Jaylen and Ime Udoka (Udoka was an assistant coach for the Nets).
“I think Jaylen understands that it’s KD and the only trade candidate or only player they were considering trading for was Durant. It’s not like it was a Donovan Mitchell situation,” said Weiss. He continued with, “Jayson Tatum is untouchable and Jaylen isn’t, and he knows it.”
Fans point out how Jaylen Brown has always been in trade talks, resulting in low morale for him. However, what they fail to understand is that he gets put into these packages for elite level superstars who are top 5 in the league.
Jaylen Brown’s previous trade packages.
The two most significant times Jaylen’s name came up in trade talks besides this past summer with Kevin Durant was in 2018 and 2019. The 2018 package included him, Marcus Smart, and some of their best draft picks for a disgruntled Kawhi Leonard ready to leave the Spurs.
The Celtics however, were hesitant to include Brown in this deal. The same would go for Anthony Davis in the 2018-19 season where Brown was once again on the table but quickly removed.
