Last week, there were multiple reports that came out saying that the Boston Celtics had called the Brooklyn Nets about a trade that would send Kevin Durant to the Celtics for Jaylen Brown and other stuff in what would be a league changing blockbuster. A Durant trade would make the Celtics one of the perennial contenders to win a championship but Jaylen Brown is really good, beloved in Boston, wants to be there, and has done nothing but win since becoming a Celtic. So the question has to be asked: should the Celtics do it?
Let’s start with the fact that I am a Boston Celtics fan and pretty much watch every single game of theirs, that’s why you are getting the Celtics side of it from me, even though everyone else is also talking about it from their perspective. On that note let’s start with the Marcus Smart piece. The Celtics trading Jaylen Brown AND Marcus Smart is not something I would do. They would be changing an identity that they have worked so hard to build. Smart is the reigning Defensive Player of the Year and was the starting point guard on a team that was 2 wins away from a championship and frankly I do not trust Malcolm Brogdon (due to health), Derrick White (inconsistent and hesitant shooter), and Payton Prichard (not enough playmaking and very small) enough to move Smart. Marcus Smart is the heartbeat of the Boston Celtics, makes the engine run on both offense and defense and would be a vital part of a team with Durant and Jayson Tatum on it. So now that we have addressed that let’s talk about other things. I am hesitant to trade both Brown and all the picks and swaps. Why should the Celtics need to include both a 25-year-old All-Star who has proven he is a postseason winner and all of the picks and swaps the Nets have demanded in a trade. The Raptors haven’t shown an urgency to trade Scottie Barnes for Durant and the Heat and Suns don’t have any players who are at/could get to Brown’s level that they can realistically include in any deal so why should Brad Stevens do it?
Let’s say Brooklyn agrees to a deal that would send Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, 2 future 1st round picks, and a pick swap. Should the Celtics do it? Is trading all that future capital for a better chance to win a championship right now worth it? Is breaking up a team that was 2 wins away from a championship worth it? I am not even saying Brooklyn does this trade. As someone who has watched Jaylen Brown grow from everyone yelling about how the Celtics should have drafted Kris Dunn over him to the 2nd best player on a team that went to the NBA Finals this one would hurt me. This isn’t like when the Celtics traded Isaiah Thomas to the Cavaliers for Kyrie, yes Isaiah Thomas beloved in Boston but his hip was a mess and was never the same player after that great 2017 season he had. Jaylen Brown is 25 and will be 26 in October, just as the season is getting started, he is likely going to continue to improve and will, hopefully, be in Celtic green for a long time. He is a free agent in 2 years, yes, but there is no concern from the Celtics that he will leave when that time comes so that seems to be a non-factor. Are you really going to trade Brown, Derrick White, who is a good player that you traded a lot to get, and picks all for a player who is 34 years old and has only played 90 games the last 3 years? As a result of all of this you would likely think that the Celtics shouldn’t do a trade. However, we are talking about Kevin Durant. The same Kevin Durant who was a legit MVP candidate before he got injured last season. The same guy who had a 49 point triple double in game 5 of a playoff series and 48 points in game 7 of that same series and was inches away from putting his team in the Eastern Conference Finals, a series they likely would have won, with the 2nd and 3rd best player on the team hurt against the team that won the title that year. A guy who is arguably the best player in the league and the 2nd best in my opinion. I know he has injury issues and I know he is 34 years old but he is Kevin Durant, a walking bucket, the most adaptable star in the NBA, a guy who loves to hoop more than anything, who is as hungry as anyone to win a championship. You cannot just dismiss this because putting Kevin Durant in Jaylen Brown’s spot makes the Celtics an immediate title favorite. The goal is to get banner 18, you can’t get banner 19 and banner 20 until you get banner 18 and Kevin Durant makes it more likely you get banner 18 then having Jaylen Brown and Derrick White on your team do.
I want to reiterate the fact that I do not believe that trading Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart for Kevin Durant moves the needle enough to justify trading those 2 guys along with picks in a trade, so that is a hard no for me. Smart’s value is way too much to the Celtics to package him and Brown, who is a legit star in the league, in a trade. However, Derrick White is a player the Celtics can afford to lose and if Brown is replaced by Durant it makes the Celtics a better team. In my opinion if the Celtics had had Durant this past season they would have won the championship, so there are plenty of reasons to do a trade. My opinion on if the Celtics should do this changes constantly because there are plenty of reasons to do it but there are also reasons not too. Durant is often injured, is 34 years old, Jaylen Brown is really good at basketball, the Celtics have been through many battles and have done a lot of winning with this group, Jaylen Brown (seemingly) wants to be a Celtic, and how can you be sure Kevin Durant doesn’t decide that he doesn’t want to play for you anymore and forces his way out again? Also trading picks down the line like that is scary, the Celtics were able to draft Jaylen Brown using a Nets pick they acquired in a big trade that is arguably one of the worst in NBA history. As a result, I think I would pass, Brown is too good and the Nets probably want more picks than I would be willing to trade. However, this is Kevin Durant so I would understand if you disagree with my opinion as well. I now bring the question to you: should the Celtics trade for Kevin Durant?
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