Jaylen Brown's future with the Boston Celtics is still uncertain after the team reportedly dangled him in Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks. But after Brad Stevens' latest message, fans may have a good idea about what's next for Brown in Boston.
During his press conference after the first round of the NBA draft, Stevens made it clear that the Georgia native is still a big part of the Celtics' success, but he didn't "want to predict the future."
"Jaylen Brown is a big part of us," Stevens said. "I'm never going to predict the future. Every indication, everything I think about, over the last few years, has been building around those guys. You never know. But at the same time, the one thing I want to make very clear is how valued he's always been. He's been amazing. He's been an amazing teammate and a great person to be around."
"Whether [Brown's run in Boston] ends 10 years from now when he retires or before, there's a lot to celebrate," Stevens said. "We have a great relationship and an open relationship where we talk about everything. But I don't want to predict the future."
Jaylen Brown may have already played his final game for the Celtics
Stevens' message, mixed with all the rumors of Brown wanting his own team, not feeling respected in Boston, and being a trade candidate for a very long time (again, these are just rumors and speculation), makes it seem like the former NBA Finals MVP may be on his way out this summer.
One saying I've been hearing a lot recently is, "You can't put the toothpaste back in the tube," meaning it might be tough for the Celtics to repair their relationship with Brown after being pretty willing to trade him for Antetokounmpo (and who knows who else over the last handful of years?).
And if that does end up being the case, then it's tough to imagine that the Celtics would be able to not only bring Brown back and actually have him be committed to the team, but also be able to re-sign him since he's eligible for a contract extension next month.
Many teams would line up to acquire the five-time All-Star's services, and at this point, that may be what the Celtics will have to take advantage of. And on Tuesday's episode of "Get Up," ESPN's Brian Windhorst already said he expects a bidding war for Brown.
“What I expect to happen, is a bidding war for Jaylen Brown,” Windhorst said. “In the most recent days, teams have been preparing for this eventuality. That it wouldn’t be the Boston Celtics who won the Giannis sweepstakes and that there would be a Jaylen Brown market, and now we’re going to watch that. I think it’ll take time to play out, but if there is a draft pick involved, it could happen today.”
Boston should still look to make amends with Brown and only trade him if that's truly the last resort. The Celtics have a championship-winning duo (who are each in their prime), and they shouldn't break it up unless they absolutely need to. But as it stands, there are reasons to think a trade might not only be necessary -- it might be inevitable.
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