Rockets Reportedly Not Interested in Celtics' Jaylen Brown

For months, we've heard about the Houston Rockets being potential X-factors this offseason. Many had the Rockets penciled in as the biggest buyers on the NBA's summer trade market.

Prognosticators linked the Rockets to new Miami Heat superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dallas Mavericks All-Star and NBA champion guard Kyrie Irving, to throw out a few names. It ultimately didn't happen that way.

At least it hasn't. Not yet.

We know for sure that Antetokounmpo won't be coming to the Rockets, as he's already been dealt to the Miami Heat. The Rockets had already tapped out of the Antetokounmpo market and ran towards the exit sign.

Such a move would have absolve Houston of their assets, not to mention limiting their ability to surround him with the talent, skillsets and player profiles to maximize his own skillset. As it pertains to Irving, it's unclear if he will even be available.

Dallas Mavericks new shot caller Masai Ujiri has been pushing the message throughout the league that Irving isn't available. Could he be doing a little bit of conjuring?

Perhaps. Par for the course around this time of the year.

Once it's known that a team is looking to deal a player, they immediately get less of a return, since the league knows said player is no longer wanted. 

Granted, we don't know if the Rockets are all that interested in Irving, anyways, as they've yet to contact Ujiri and the Mavericks about his availability. At least, not as of last week. 

We've also heard (and read) a lot about the Rockets being interested in Boston Celtics All-NBA wing Jaylen Brown. Such a link was inevitable and unavoidable, due to Rockets coach Ime Udoka’s ties to Brown.

Udoka coached the 2024 NBA Finals MVP during his lone season with the Celtics in 2021-22. And Brown was also very supportive of Udoka, following his ouster from his post as Celtics head coach, due to an off-court scandal (if we want to call it that).

But the latest reporting by well-known NBA insider Zach Lowe is that Houston isn't all that interested in Brown, in all actuality. Lowe took to his signature Zach Lowe Show to explain.

"Houston, just keeps surprising me that they dont come up in ANY of this talk...I've heard they're not super into Jaylen Brown..."

The Rockets would have a hard time nabbing Brown, from a financial standpoint. Sure, Alperen Sengun, Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela would get the deal done, but the Celtics wouldn't do that.

They'd likely want a combination of Sengun and Smith, before you factor the draft capital that would be necessary to complete a deal. That framework wouldn't make sense for the Rockets, either. 

They're not just a Jaylen Brown away from contending with the San Antonio Spurs or Oklahoma City Thunder, especially if losing Smith in such a deal.

It will be interesting to see what Boston does with Brown, however, as it seems likely that they'll have to trade him this summer.