Celtics fans are all but assured to be looking at a different core next season. Jayson Tatum will start the season on the sidelines (if not stay there the whole season). That's the only guarantee when it comes to who will take the floor at the start of the 2025-26 season. The second apron looms large over a roster that, even in a depleted East, likely isn't a contender.
Fans have spent the past few weeks firing up online trade machines, trying to upgrade the roster or find ways to reduce salaries. Almost every member of the Celtics' core has been mentioned in a rumor: Jrue Holiday to the Clippers, Kristaps Porzingis to the Clippers or the Mavericks, Derrick White to the Warriors. All big contracts that the Celtics could and should explore moving this offseason. One name has stayed off the radar...until now.
Jaylen Brown Could Be a Target for the San Antonio Spurs
With each playoff run that ends without a championship, one offseason storyline inevitably would find its way to sports radio, Celtics blogs and podcasts: "Is it time to break up the Jays?" and then "If you had to pick one to trade who would it be and why is it Jaylen?" It was, like The Masters, a tradition like no other.
There will be no duck boat parade in Boston this summer, so back to the regularly scheduled trade rumors. Caught in the crossfire of Giannis trade rumors and the Spurs attempting to capitalize on back-to-back Rookies of the Year (and the number 2 pick this year), Jaylen Brown has now officially hit the rumor mill. Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated states that the Spurs could move away from a pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo:
"One of the concerns people in San Antonio told me about is, you go and deal for a guy like Giannis, all of a sudden you’ve created a championship window, but it is a window with a closing date. You’ve got De’Aaron Fox, who’s in his late 20s, Giannis in his early 30s, and the last thing they want is to have a roster after those guys kind of age out where when (Victor) Wembanyama is maybe looking around going, ‘All right, where are the young guys I’m going to play with after that?"Chris Mannix, SI
Shifting their trade target makes sense from the Spurs' perspective. De'Aaron Fox, Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle, the number 2 pick, Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, and Harrison Barnes could compete for years to come. A front court of Wemby and Giannis would be formidable, but it would take a lot for the Bucks to move on from Antetokounmpo, and, like Mannix states, it puts a timeline on the Spurs' championship window in the short term.
If the Spurs still want to upgrade the roster significantly, not pay as much in trade capital, and find someone younger, Jaylen Brown fits the bill. The question becomes what gets it done if that is indeed the route the Spurs choose to go.
"I think if you’re Boston, you’re not going to ask for a Stephon Castle. You’re not going to get a Stephon Castle in a potential Jaylen Brown deal. You would get the No. 2 pick back in return. You would get the Devin Vassells, the Keldon Johnsons, future first-round capital. "Chris Mannix
This proposed trade works on paper, but should the Celtics move on from Jaylen Brown? Fans would certainly prefer to move on from Jrue Holiday, due to his age, and Kristaps Porzingis, due to his injury history. Brown provides the most value in a potential return. No offense to Vassell and Johnson, but the real star of this trade package would be the number 2 pick in this year's draft, potentially Dylan Harper.
Harper could replace/upgrade the offense lost with Brown's departure, but would create a crowded backcourt. Holiday, White, Pritchard, and Harper would be fighting for minutes. A trade of Brown to the Spurs with this framework resets the Celtics' championship contention, punts on the 2025-26 season, and likely leads to another trade of one of the guards on the Celtics roster.
Trading a known commodity, especially an All-Star in their prime, for a prospect is risky business. The Celtics front office has not shied away from taking big swings, and this would be one of the biggest that fans have seen in some time.