Trade No. 3: Celtics duck the payday as Blazers add Jaylen Brown
The Boston Celtics have an All-NBA forward in Jaylen Brown that they aren’t sure if they want to keep around. Brown is eligible for a massive supermax contract extension this summer, and if the Celtics pay Brown and then Jayson Tatum next summer, they will owe well over $100 million to just two players. In the era of the second tax apron, that’s a punitive position to be in.
After trading Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics can give their backcourt a makeover by adding Henderson and Simons. They get out of paying Brown, can bring Henderson along behind Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White, and suddenly have a lot more playmaking juice.
Here’s how it would look:
The Trail Blazers get the two-way wing they haven’t had since…well, maybe Nic Batum? Brandon Roy? For a team that excels at developing guards, they have been a wasteland at small forward, so adding Brown would be a godsend. The Blazers don’t need him to be an elite on-ball creator and dribbler, because they have one of the league’s best in Lillard.
This is a lot to give up for Brown; Simons is a high-scoring guard in his own right, Henderson looks like a future star, with another pick to boot. That’s why this deal isn’t higher on the list.
But Brown is a player the Blazers aren’t going to find any other way, and he’s ready to compete right now. That’s a tempting move for Portland to consider.