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Celtics' Jaylen Brown Linked to Trade for Massive Draft Haul

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 10:28 AM ET

It's been well-known for weeks now around the NBA that the Celtics will be looking to make some major changes to the roster going forward. That was true even before their unceremonious elimination at the hands of the Knicks in the conference semifinals, and before the devastating news that Jayson Tatum ruptured his Achilles tendon in Game 4 of that series, and is likely gone for all of 2025-26.

The Celtics are simply too expensive in this era of ever-more onerous luxury taxes and tax aprons.

While a deal that jettisons Kristaps Porzingis would be the simplest path to creating some salary wiggle room, the Celtics could look to remake the roster on a bigger scale. Derrick White or Jrue Holiday could be on the table, but speculation has held that the Celtics could even consider dealing away their No. 2 option, Jaylen Brown.

And team insider Chris Mannix said there is one team to watch for a possible Brown deal: the Spurs, who own the No. 2 pick as well as the No. 14 pick in this year's draft, as well as the Hawks' pick in 2027 and the Celtics' own pick in 2028. The Spurs also have 11 extra second-round picks in the next seven drafts.

“The team I’d watch the closest with Jaylen Brown is probably the Spurs,” Mannix (of Sports Illustrated) said on NBC Sports Boston.

While the Spurs would have interest in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, they'd shy away from that if they had to deal young guard Stephon Castle. And Brown is two years younger than Antetokounmpo.

“They want to hold on to Stephon Castle, so he can be that second guy opposite Wembanyama for a long time, assuming they trade that No. 2 pick,” Mannix said.

Asked if the Spurs would give up No. 2 (likely to be used on Rutgers' Dylan Harper) in a deal for Brown, Mannix was unequivocal.

“Oh, absolutely. I don’t think Boston does that deal without the number two pick,” he said. “I think Jaylen — for San Antonio — is worth giving up a player that most people talk about as a potential franchise guy in Dylan Harper.

“People that I talked to really like (Harper), but I think Jaylen Brown is — at his age with his contract status, his playoff pedigree — I think that’s worth it. And all of a sudden, you’ve got (De'Aaron) Fox, you’ve got Brown, you’ve got Castle, and you’ve got Wemby backstopping that team. That’s a championship contender in the Western Conference next season.”

Not a championship contender in Boston, however. But for a team that may need to remake itself on the fly, it's worth considering.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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