The Celtics are in an awkward spot after missing out on Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Boston reportedly offered Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks to the Bucks for Antetokounmpo, and Ringer founder and Celtics fan Bill Simmons isn’t convinced that this is the end of Brown trade rumors.
“I don’t think [the Celtics] would have entertained this at the end of the season,” Simmons said of Celtics ownership considering trading Brown. “I think something definitely shifted as we went along, and I am not convinced he’s going to be on the team in October. I think it’s 50/50.”
The Bucks eventually chose the Heat’s package for Antetokounmpo late Monday night, getting three first-round picks and multiple young players, including Kel’al Ware and Jaime Jaquez Jr. from Miami.
The question for the Celtics remains: If they trade Brown, where do they move him to and for what?
Some have speculated that Anthony Edwards could demand a trade from the Timberwolves, although that’s far from guaranteed at this point.
The challenge could be in finding a deal that makes Boston better.
With Jayson Tatum missing the first four-and-half months of the season, Brown took over as the Celtics’ No. 1 option. He was second-team All-NBA this season and had a career high in points (28.7), rebounds (6.9), and assists (5.1), while keeping the Celtics near the top of the Eastern Conference.
“When Jaylen said that last year was the favorite of his career last year and then tried to backtrack a little … I think a huge part of that was he finally got his shine as a real guy,” Simmons said.
“I’m sure he loved to prove that you can still be a really good team if I’m your best player. … He proved it; we’ll see what else he wants to prove.”
Brown has had a tumultuous offseason, bickering with ESPN talent Stephen A. Smith over his comments that the 2025-26 season was his favorite season in his NBA career despite blowing a 3-1 lead in the first round of the playoffs to the 76ers, who then got swept by the Knicks.
“It’s a bizarre situation,” Simmons said. “The question is, does Jaylen do a six-hour Twitch stream (Tuesday)? How does he handle the next 48 hours?”
Smith crushed Brown for the comments about his favorite year, which came on Twitch just days after the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs despite being Eastern Conference favorites, according to most prognosticators.
“The first order of business is that he needs to be quiet, and like [Kendrick Perkins] said, go on vacation unless you’re trying to get traded,” Smith said.
Well, he almost got traded, according to multiple reports, and Brown previously doubled down on his comments.
“I say this, and I stand on this again. Clip this up. This was my favorite season of my career,” said Brown, who was a member of the Celtics’ 2024 championship team.
“Like, I will say it even louder. I stand on it. I triple down, quadruple down, whatever y’all want me to say.”
