Celtics All-Star Jaylen Brown remains the subject of trade discussions despite Boston’s brass indicating he was sticking around, according to ESPN.
Brown was reportedly the central piece of the trade offer the Celtics made to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo before Milwaukee elected to take what it deemed as a better offer from the Miami Heat. NBA trades agreed to prior to the start of free agency are not official until next week.
ESPN reported talks involving other teams interested in Brown are ongoing.
Brown, who had a career year last season when he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, turns 30 in October and recently posted a video to social media in which he is training outdoors and proclaims his motivation to be better than ever next season.
Team president Brad Stevens said prior to the draft earlier this week that he held multiple face-to-face meetings with Brown and considers him “a big part of us.”
“I’m never going to predict the future. Every indication, everything I think about, over the last few years, has been building around those guys,” Stevens said of Brown and Jayson Tatum. “You never know. But at the same time, the one thing I want to make very clear is how valued he’s always been. He’s been amazing. He’s been an amazing teammate and a great person to be around.”
Brown just completed the second year of a five-year, $285.4 million contract. He finished sixth in NBA MVP voting and was named second-team All-NBA, playing most of the year without Tatum as the latter recovered from a torn Achilles.
The MVP of the NBA Finals and Eastern Conference finals when the Celtics won the title in 2008, Brown has played his entire career in Boston. In 674 games, he has averaged 20 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists and one steal.
