Jaylen Brown continues to be at the forefront of NBA trade rumors. Unlike in previous offseasons when Brown’s name was discussed in trade rumors, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has not denied the speculation. In addition, Stevens indicated in his end-of-the-season press conference that Boston would re-shape its roster in order to play a different style of basketball than the one that saw the C’s flame out in the second round in 2025 and the first round in 2026.
The most likely scenario involves Brown being part of a trade in which Giannis Antetokounmpo heads to Boston, and Brown is re-routed to a different location.
“It’s just going to be a matter of can the Celtics find an appropriate third team to land [Giannis Antetokounmpo],” said Yahoo! Sports Kevin O’Connor on NBC Sports Boston this week. “It seems by all indications that the Milwaukee Bucks don’t want Jaylen Brown as their key return. They’d rather have a haul of picks, multiple pieces. I doubt Jaylen Brown would even want Milwaukee either at this point in his career. He wants to win somewhere else.”
If the Celtics miss out on Giannis, then Brown could still be traded by Boston this offseason. Brown has been involved in so many trade rumors over the years that he may be frustrated with the Celtics front office.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said this week that the Celtics “run the risk of Jaylen Brown requesting a trade” given how much smoke there has been surrounding these rumors in recent weeks.
Given all that, here is a look at three potential landing spots for Brown.
Jaylen Brown to Trail Blazers?
As mentioned above, the Bucks are in desperate need of draft capital. The Trail Blazers control the Bucks first round picks from 2028 to 2030 thanks to the Damian Lillard trade of 2023.
If the Bucks know they’re not going to be anywhere close to contention these next few years, they would surely like to have their own picks back.
A trade proposal that has been floated for weeks includes Brown landing with the Blazers, Giannis landing with the Celtics, and the Bucks recouping some or all of those draft picks from Portland.
It makes a ton of sense for all parties, including the Blazers, who need a veteran superstar to vault them into true contenders.
Brown got a taste of being the No. 1 guy on a team during this past regular season when Jayson Tatum was still recovering from his Achilles injury. Brown thrived in the role, putting up career numbers in points (28.7), rebounds (6.9), and assists (5.1) per game.
Jaylen Brown to Spurs?
Newsweek writer Rowan Fisher-Shotton floated the idea of Brown to the Spurs this week, as he cited Brown as the perfect player to get San Antonio over the hump.
“A potential deal could see San Antonio send De’Aaron Fox, last year’s No. 14 overall pick, Carter Bryant, and their 2026 first round pick in exchange for Brown, with the Celtics potentially sweetening the package by adding Ron Harper Jr. to reunite the Harper brothers in San Antonio,” Fisher-Shotton wrote.
Windhorst, though, threw cold water on the idea of San Antonio shopping Fox.
“I know there’s a lot of interest in whether [the Spurs] might do something with De’Aaron Fox, but they are committed to him right now as their franchise point guard,” Windhorst said. “And I think they will remain that way.”
Jaylen Brown to Jazz?
Utah’s CEO of basketball operations, Danny Ainge, drafted Brown back in 2016. The Jazz’s head coach is Will Hardy, a former Celtics assistant.
There is plenty of familiarity between Brown and the Jazz, and Ainge has long been looking for a centerpiece player in Utah.
The Jazz own the No. 2 overall pick in next week’s NBA Draft. If Ainge is not happy with what is remaining on the board after Washington picks No. 1, he may try and go after Brown.
Ainge was in a similar situation with the Celtics 19 years ago, when he jettisoned the No. 5 overall pick in a deal that landed Boston Ray Allen.
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