Celtics
“Ultimately, they want to avoid Brown or White trades. That’s what is going around the NBA.”
A report from ESPN’s Shams Charania this week tabbed Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Sam Hauser as the “primary focus” for the Celtics when it comes to dealing away lineup regulars this summer.
Boston’s top priority in moving on from those three is solely centered on getting under the restrictive second apron of the NBA’s luxury tax threshold.
But even if Boston’s upcoming moves are rooted in fiscal-based decisions by Brad Stevens, Jayson Tatum’s potential season-long absence due to a torn Achilles tendon and the need for a larger reset could also prompt the Celtics to be more aggressive in their roster overhaul in the coming months.
As such, Yahoo Sports NBA insider Kevin O’Connor acknowledged on NBC Sports Boston that the Celtics have not shirked away from fielding trade offers on both Jaylen Brown and Derrick White.
“Besides Tatum, the Celtics are at least listening to offers for everybody out there, whether it’s Derrick White or Jaylen Brown,” O’Connor said on NBC Sports Boston’s “The Off C’season” special. “Shams said big offers have been made for those guys. How can you not listen? Now, as Shams said, and I’ve heard as well, I don’t think Boston wants to trade Jaylen Brown or wants to trade Derrick White. They want to go the Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, Sam Hauser route for getting under the second apron.”
Even if the Celtics need to part ways with players like Holiday and Porzingis to get under the second apron, retaining two players still in their respective primes in Brown and White could allow Boston to reassert themselves as contenders in 2026-27, so long as Tatum makes a full recovery.
But if Brad Stevens is looking to either significantly clear cap space or opt for a more sizable retool while Tatum is on the mend, dealing one of Brown or White — while painful in the short term — could land the Celtics a significant haul of picks or talented young players.
“Ultimately, they want to avoid Brown or White trades. That’s what is going around the NBA,” O’Connor said. “That’s what everybody’s talking about. But teams are making offers, so you at least have to listen.
“If somebody comes over the top with some absurd offer on draft night or the day before the draft, maybe that’s the route that makes more sense for you to go if it seems like it’s too good to be true that it’s actually an offer being made to you.”
Despite all of the discourse surrounding Holiday, Hauser, and Porzingis as trade chips this offseason, both Brown and White have also heard their names in trade whispers.
White is reportedly coveted by another win-now team in the Golden State Warriors, while Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix noted that the Spurs could be a potential contender for a Brown blockbuster deal — given their desire to pair a veteran star talent alongside Victor Wembanyama.
“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,” Mannix said. “You would get the No. 2 pick back in return. You would get the Devin Vassells, the Keldon Johnsons, future first-round capital. That’s something I’d watch if and when the Giannis Antetokounmpo stuff shakes itself out over the next few weeks.”
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