Windhorst: ‘Bidding War’ Possible For Jaylen Brown

“What I expect to happen, is a bidding war for Jaylen Brown,” Windhorst said. “In the most recent days, teams have been preparing for this eventuality. That it wouldn’t be the Boston Celtics who won the Giannis sweepstakes and that there would be a Jaylen Brown market, and now we’re going to watch that. I think it’ll take time to play out, but if there is a draft pick involved, it could happen today.”

Windhorst states that Boston made “a very strong offer” for Antetokounmpo, but was wary of parting with some of its young talent in addition to Brown, echoing reporting from his colleague Shams Charania. He adds that team officials understood the risk of making it public that Brown could be involved in the deal.

Brown is expected to draw strong interest around the league if the Celtics are willing to listen to offers. The five-time All-Star is coming off the best season of his career, averaging 28.7 PPG and earning second-team All-NBA honors while leading Boston to the second seed in the East despite not having Jayson Tatum for most of the season.

Portland, Atlanta and Houston have been prominently mentioned as potential Brown suitors in recent weeks, but other teams could get involved in the bidding as well. The timing of a report on Monday that the Rockets are willing to consider trade talks involving nearly their entire roster could suggest that they’re preparing to make a serious offer.

The only drawback on Brown is his expensive contract, which will pay him roughly $183MM over the next three seasons. He’ll become eligible for a two-year extension next month projected to be worth $142MM.

Jay King of The Athletic examines the potential fallout in Boston, noting that Brown was also offered to Brooklyn four years ago in an attempt to land Kevin Durant. Brown said he spoke to Celtics officials and ownership after that deal fell through and told reporters that he moved past any hard feelings. He was named the Finals MVP two years later when Boston won the 2024 title.

It’s not clear if Brown will be able to move past this round of trade rumors as easily — or if he’ll even get the chance. The Celtics may decide to split up their stars after Brown took on the alpha role last season while Tatum was recovering from a torn Achilles. King notes that Brown became the clear on-court leader as the team overachieved, and it may not be easy to work out their roles when he and Tatum are both healthy.

“My guess is, even if Giannis wasn’t available, I swear I think Jaylen Brown might be on the block this year,” Windhorst added during his TV appearance this morning, per Adam Zagoria of NJ.com. “So I think Jaylen Brown is probably, not for sure, is probably going to be elsewhere when the season opens.”