Celtics-Rockets Trade Pitch Is Only Jaylen Brown Possibility Worth Considering originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
I’m not sure how the discourse surrounding the Boston Celtics missing out on two-time league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo turned into “how are the Celtics going to trade Jaylen Brown now?”
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Antetokounmpo is a top-five player in the NBA. Brown might have an argument for top-10.
Trading a top-10 guy for a disgruntled top-five guy makes a lot of sense.
Shopping a top-10 guy for younger pieces elsewhere in the middle of your championship window? Not so much.
I think the Houston Rockets are the only team that can put together a package for Brown that is even worth the time Brad Stevens would take to read it.
Houston’s trade package would be centered around center Alperen Sengun and former top-five draft pick Amen Thompson.
Sengun is one of the best defensive centers in the NBA. When looking at Boston’s first-round exit from the postseason two months ago, they were clearly hobbled by their frontcourt play.
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Thompson was the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He has turned into one of the most tenacious defensive wings in the league. He is a slashing guard who plays at the rim and averages two steals per game in his postseason career.
The Rockets would have to add even more to get this deal to go through, but if trading Brown is actually the inevitability the NBA world is acting like it is, Boston needs to get a young top-five draft pick-like talent out of it.
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