New Celtics / Durant rumor

[Vermont Green]

Celtics willingness to trade Brown plus for Durant seems tacit admission that Front Office is not confident Tatum can be best player on a championship team. No one has said this. But when you look at the last 10 tears of champions, each team was led by a guy who is top 3-5. Curry. Giannis. Kawhi. KD.  Lebron. Dirk. Tatum is really good. But he’s not in that category. KD still is.

I don’t want to trade JB. I love JB. But management is under a lot of pressure to get ring.

Do you think we would have won the championship last season if we had had Brogdon instead of Nesmith and Gallinari instead of Theis?  Not sure that Gallinari is all that much of an upgrade over Theis, but some.  Brogdon would have been a huge upgrade over Nesmith.  He would have taken minutes from Pritchard and White but still.

I am not sure what the team's motivation would be if in fact they trade Brown for Durant.  You could be right.  Durant is really good.  Can get buckets in ways that Tatum and Brown can't.  I am not for the trade though.   I am for just running it back.

[Neurotic Guy]

I definitely prefer keeping JB but I’m also cognizant of how hard it is to win championships in the NBA and especially to become a multiple champion.   People were saying just a couple of weeks ago - “when you have a chance, go all in” - and that was just about securing a third string center.  There is a very fair case to be made that not only does swapping JB for KD make them the favorite as opposed to a contender this and next season, but it also prevents a different team from jumping ahead.

[SHAQATTACK]

Celtics willingness to trade Brown plus for Durant seems tacit admission that Front Office is not confident Tatum can be best player on a championship team. No one has said this. But when you look at the last 10 tears of champions, each team was led by a guy who is top 3-5. Curry. Giannis. Kawhi. KD.  Lebron. Dirk. Tatum is really good. But he’s not in that category. KD still is.

I don’t want to trade JB. I love JB. But management is under a lot of pressure to get ring.

Yup….And KD know his prime years left are 2-4 and doesn’t want to waste it with Kyrie Simmons on the Nets , which need a lot of work overall.

It’s possible the Celtics are just the place he can land to build his legacy .

I wouldn’t give up Smart in a trade …..maybe White

I d wait till Nets are desperate where we can fleece them.  Or just keep Jaylen

[Roy H.]

A new new rumor:

Jared Weiss: If Boston can make just a Jalen Brown swap with another good point guard -and they have so many point guards now with the Malcolm Brogdon trade- and it’s just like one draft pick or something like that. That seems like a deal that you would offer for Kevin Durant. I understand that if you’re willing to part with Jalen obviously… and the price gets steeper. And you know, I heard from several sources now that the offer that got out there isn’t even the highest offer Boston’s put out there. I guess there was more bidding early on, Brooklyn sat on it and then the price fell through the floor… It looks like they screwed up playing their hand on that one. I don’t think the offers are going to get any better especially if Brooklyn wait this out to training camp. If they go to training camp with KD still on board I don’t really see the offers getting that much better. – via Apple Podcasts

I wonder what Jared considers a "source".

Nevermind.  Now that Weiss is reporting something I like to hear, I trust his sources:

When WEEI’s Jermaine Wiggins claimed that Jaylen Brown told him he wouldn’t re-sign in Boston when his contract expires in 2024, Brown was perplexed and denied the report behind closed doors, sources familiar with Brown’s thinking told The Athletic. In spite of the trade talks, Brown wants to be in Boston. – via Jared Weiss @ The Athletic

[Celtics2021]

A new new rumor:

Jared Weiss: If Boston can make just a Jalen Brown swap with another good point guard -and they have so many point guards now with the Malcolm Brogdon trade- and it’s just like one draft pick or something like that. That seems like a deal that you would offer for Kevin Durant. I understand that if you’re willing to part with Jalen obviously… and the price gets steeper. And you know, I heard from several sources now that the offer that got out there isn’t even the highest offer Boston’s put out there. I guess there was more bidding early on, Brooklyn sat on it and then the price fell through the floor… It looks like they screwed up playing their hand on that one. I don’t think the offers are going to get any better especially if Brooklyn wait this out to training camp. If they go to training camp with KD still on board I don’t really see the offers getting that much better. – via Apple Podcasts

I wonder what Jared considers a "source".

Nevermind.  Now that Weiss is reporting something I like to hear, I trust his sources:

When WEEI’s Jermaine Wiggins claimed that Jaylen Brown told him he wouldn’t re-sign in Boston when his contract expires in 2024, Brown was perplexed and denied the report behind closed doors, sources familiar with Brown’s thinking told The Athletic. In spite of the trade talks, Brown wants to be in Boston. – via Jared Weiss @ The Athletic

LOL

[kraidstar]

Brooklyn is insane if they turned that offer down. Who exactly are the Celtics bidding against in this theoretical trade? I keep hearing the Heat, Suns, and Raptors mentioned. Bam and Booker are the only guys out of that bunch who are on Jaylen's level. And I highly doubt those clubs would pull the trigger. Ayton, Bridges, Herro, Anuoby, Siakam etc are fine players but aren't potential top-15 guys like Brown.

Brown was the second-best player in the NBA Finals.  Getting a young established star - with additional upside - PLUS another starter PLUS a pick? It's unheard of. Contending teams aren't going to gut their roster for a temporary, modest-at-best upgrade.

Color me skeptical about this whole report. This might make sense if KD was 29. But he's old and injury prone. IMO Brooklyn is justifiably getting mediocre offers and want to drive up the price. Either that or they don't want to trade Durant and are putting on a show to make it look like they tried.

I am not so sure they are insane.  See the real issue is that they don't want to trade Durant in the first place.  They are going to play the game, listen to offers, and then go to Durant and say we tried, couldn't trade you, now how about we try and make this work with Kyrie and Simmons?

I am not sure Durant even still wants to be traded.  But BKN is going to have a really hard time "winning" a trade where they send out Durant.  If they can get Durant and Kyrie on the court, they are going to be a good team.  If they can get anything decent out of Simmons, they might be a really good team.

If I was BKN, I would not want to trade Durant either.  It is Simmons they probably are going to end up needing to trade.  But may as well try and make it work then see where you are at heading into the trade deadline.  Maybe dump Simmons then.

Yeah I touched on that in my last paragraph. I think they're willing to run it back and won't make a trade unless they get a Godfather offer.

And why should they?

KD, Kyrie, Ben, Curry, and Harris could be a contender. Wait it out, let things calm down, bounce back with an unexpectedly great season.

[footey]

Celtics willingness to trade Brown plus for Durant seems tacit admission that Front Office is not confident Tatum can be best player on a championship team. No one has said this. But when you look at the last 10 tears of champions, each team was led by a guy who is top 3-5. Curry. Giannis. Kawhi. KD.  Lebron. Dirk. Tatum is really good. But he’s not in that category. KD still is.

I don’t want to trade JB. I love JB. But management is under a lot of pressure to get ring.

No one has said this because there's no real basis to think that unless you just want to take a jab at Tatum. The offseason started with us adding bench pieces to our current core, not seeking out a new #1 option. So that clearly wasn't a priority. But it's not often a player of Durant's caliber becomes available and the team inquired. I expect most of the league inquired.

Jayson has become an All-Star at a younger age than all of the players you mentioned except Lebron. He and KD were the same age. He's not a finished product and it seems premature to write off how good he can be.

I'm not taking a jab at him. I just don't believe he is in the same category as those other guys. He's not. KD is.  The fact that we almost won is a bit misleading.  We beat a very disfunctional Nets team, we barely beat a Bucks team missing their 2nd best player, we barely beat a Heat team whose best player played with a bum knee and whose 2nd or 3rd best scorer missed most of the series, and lost 3 out of the last 4 games to the Warriors.  I don't want to trade Jaylen.  I like Tatum.  Frankly, if we traded Tatum for Durant instead of Brown, I think our chances of winning would be about the same, and we would probably have to give up much less if we did that. 

[RJ87]

Celtics willingness to trade Brown plus for Durant seems tacit admission that Front Office is not confident Tatum can be best player on a championship team. No one has said this. But when you look at the last 10 tears of champions, each team was led by a guy who is top 3-5. Curry. Giannis. Kawhi. KD.  Lebron. Dirk. Tatum is really good. But he’s not in that category. KD still is.

I don’t want to trade JB. I love JB. But management is under a lot of pressure to get ring.

No one has said this because there's no real basis to think that unless you just want to take a jab at Tatum. The offseason started with us adding bench pieces to our current core, not seeking out a new #1 option. So that clearly wasn't a priority. But it's not often a player of Durant's caliber becomes available and the team inquired. I expect most of the league inquired.

Jayson has become an All-Star at a younger age than all of the players you mentioned except Lebron. He and KD were the same age. He's not a finished product and it seems premature to write off how good he can be.

I'm not taking a jab at him. I just don't believe he is in the same category as those other guys. He's not. KD is.  The fact that we almost won is a bit misleading.  We beat a very disfunctional Nets team, we barely beat a Bucks team missing their 2nd best player, we barely beat a Heat team whose best player played with a bum knee and whose 2nd or 3rd best scorer missed most of the series, and lost 3 out of the last 4 games to the Warriors.  I don't want to trade Jaylen.  I like Tatum.  Frankly, if we traded Tatum for Durant instead of Brown, I think our chances of winning would be about the same, and we would probably have to give up much less if we did that.

You can only play the teams in front you. Every season, a team benefits from injuries. And it's not like the Celtics were healthy either. Both Smart and Rob missed time with leg injuries and both were clearly injured when they were playing. Tatum injured his shoulder in the ECF and didn't quite look the same after.

I don't want to trade either of them for Durant because he's a malcontent. I don't think he'll be happy in any situation he ends up in. But I'd trade Jaylen in the right deal for the right player in a heartbeat. You add to the 1st team All-NBA player, not the fringe All-Star.

[mef730]

A new new rumor:

Jared Weiss: If Boston can make just a Jalen Brown swap with another good point guard -and they have so many point guards now with the Malcolm Brogdon trade- and it’s just like one draft pick or something like that. That seems like a deal that you would offer for Kevin Durant. I understand that if you’re willing to part with Jalen obviously… and the price gets steeper. And you know, I heard from several sources now that the offer that got out there isn’t even the highest offer Boston’s put out there. I guess there was more bidding early on, Brooklyn sat on it and then the price fell through the floor… It looks like they screwed up playing their hand on that one. I don’t think the offers are going to get any better especially if Brooklyn wait this out to training camp. If they go to training camp with KD still on board I don’t really see the offers getting that much better. – via Apple Podcasts

I wonder what Jared considers a "source".

the Brooklyn Nets Reddit page apparently

It wouldn't shock me.  Shira Springer once cited a CelticsThug rumor in the Globe (without attribution, calling it a "source").

It was a salesman at a Lexus dealership.

Mike

[footey]

Celtics willingness to trade Brown plus for Durant seems tacit admission that Front Office is not confident Tatum can be best player on a championship team. No one has said this. But when you look at the last 10 tears of champions, each team was led by a guy who is top 3-5. Curry. Giannis. Kawhi. KD.  Lebron. Dirk. Tatum is really good. But he’s not in that category. KD still is.

I don’t want to trade JB. I love JB. But management is under a lot of pressure to get ring.

No one has said this because there's no real basis to think that unless you just want to take a jab at Tatum. The offseason started with us adding bench pieces to our current core, not seeking out a new #1 option. So that clearly wasn't a priority. But it's not often a player of Durant's caliber becomes available and the team inquired. I expect most of the league inquired.

Jayson has become an All-Star at a younger age than all of the players you mentioned except Lebron. He and KD were the same age. He's not a finished product and it seems premature to write off how good he can be.

I'm not taking a jab at him. I just don't believe he is in the same category as those other guys. He's not. KD is.  The fact that we almost won is a bit misleading.  We beat a very disfunctional Nets team, we barely beat a Bucks team missing their 2nd best player, we barely beat a Heat team whose best player played with a bum knee and whose 2nd or 3rd best scorer missed most of the series, and lost 3 out of the last 4 games to the Warriors.  I don't want to trade Jaylen.  I like Tatum.  Frankly, if we traded Tatum for Durant instead of Brown, I think our chances of winning would be about the same, and we would probably have to give up much less if we did that.

You can only play the teams in front you. Every season, a team benefits from injuries. And it's not like the Celtics were healthy either. Both Smart and Rob missed time with leg injuries and both were clearly injured when they were playing. Tatum injured his shoulder in the ECF and didn't quite look the same after.

I don't want to trade either of them for Durant because he's a malcontent. I don't think he'll be happy in any situation he ends up in. But I'd trade Jaylen in the right deal for the right player in a heartbeat. You add to the 1st team All-NBA player, not the fringe All-Star.

So it's cool to "take a jab" at Brown ("fringe all star") but not Tatum, huh?  Tatum is better, but barely. Brown was better in the Finals.  And pretty even in ECF with Tatum. 

[RJ87]

Celtics willingness to trade Brown plus for Durant seems tacit admission that Front Office is not confident Tatum can be best player on a championship team. No one has said this. But when you look at the last 10 tears of champions, each team was led by a guy who is top 3-5. Curry. Giannis. Kawhi. KD.  Lebron. Dirk. Tatum is really good. But he’s not in that category. KD still is.

I don’t want to trade JB. I love JB. But management is under a lot of pressure to get ring.

No one has said this because there's no real basis to think that unless you just want to take a jab at Tatum. The offseason started with us adding bench pieces to our current core, not seeking out a new #1 option. So that clearly wasn't a priority. But it's not often a player of Durant's caliber becomes available and the team inquired. I expect most of the league inquired.

Jayson has become an All-Star at a younger age than all of the players you mentioned except Lebron. He and KD were the same age. He's not a finished product and it seems premature to write off how good he can be.

I'm not taking a jab at him. I just don't believe he is in the same category as those other guys. He's not. KD is.  The fact that we almost won is a bit misleading.  We beat a very disfunctional Nets team, we barely beat a Bucks team missing their 2nd best player, we barely beat a Heat team whose best player played with a bum knee and whose 2nd or 3rd best scorer missed most of the series, and lost 3 out of the last 4 games to the Warriors.  I don't want to trade Jaylen.  I like Tatum.  Frankly, if we traded Tatum for Durant instead of Brown, I think our chances of winning would be about the same, and we would probably have to give up much less if we did that.

You can only play the teams in front you. Every season, a team benefits from injuries. And it's not like the Celtics were healthy either. Both Smart and Rob missed time with leg injuries and both were clearly injured when they were playing. Tatum injured his shoulder in the ECF and didn't quite look the same after.

I don't want to trade either of them for Durant because he's a malcontent. I don't think he'll be happy in any situation he ends up in. But I'd trade Jaylen in the right deal for the right player in a heartbeat. You add to the 1st team All-NBA player, not the fringe All-Star.

So it's cool to "take a jab" at Brown ("fringe all star") but not Tatum, huh?  Tatum is better, but barely. Brown was better in the Finals.  And pretty even in ECF with Tatum.

That's not a jab, that's the truth. He's made 1 All-Star team in his 6 seasons.

[vjcsmoke]

On the one hand I don't blame Brooklyn for trying to create a bidding war and see if they can get a better offer for KD.

But on the other hand I don't see any other team offering better than what Boston offered with JB as the centerpiece.

Jaylen Brown is a young all-star talent who just showed that he was at least the 2nd best player on a team that just made the NBA finals.

If Brooklyn wants Booker, the kid's untouchable, just signed the super max contract extension so that's not gonna happen.  Best package PHX would offer might be Mikals Bridges plus salary filler and some lotto protected picks.

Who else Toronto, would they give up Scottie Barnes or would they prefer to build around their young top 5 big?  If they won't part with Barnes who do they give up, OG Anunoby, Siakam?  Are any of those players good enough to meet Brooklyn's demands?  Anunoby isn't good enough yet, so Siakam is probably the best player they could offer.

Right now I don't see a lot of teams offering more enticing packages to outbid Boston if these trade talks are as serious as reported.

Are you guys prepared for Durant to come to Boston, if JB is part of the price for it?

[Roy H.]

Ian Begley @IanBegley
3 minutes ago

At NYC Point God premier in Manhattan, Celtics star Jayson Tatum was asked about reports of BOS talking to BKN about a trade for Kevin Durant. Tatum says that he loves the current Celts team.

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 20 minutes ago

Jayson Tatum to reporters at Point Gods movie premiere when asked about Kevin Durant trade rumors: "I’ve played with him during the Olympics. He’s a great player. That’s not my decision. I love our team. I love the guys that we got. I don’t know if that report is true or not."

[Roy H.]

Paul Pierce also in attendance at the Point Gods premiere — when the topic of the potential Celtics/Nets deal came up he was clear with his answer. “They’re not doing that.”

[tonydelk]

Ian Begley @IanBegley
3 minutes ago

At NYC Point God premier in Manhattan, Celtics star Jayson Tatum was asked about reports of BOS talking to BKN about a trade for Kevin Durant. Tatum says that he loves the current Celts team.

I hope this is all smoke and mirrors with no legitimately.  I love this team as well and feel they have more then enough to beat anyone.  I want Brown extended not traded.  I am not a KD fan and all of the ball movement and fun basketball will be gone with us watching KD and JT take turns going 1 on 5.  I think the cs can win it all next year and still have assets to make a deal.  I really hope nothing is done and we get to see this team take shape.  The crazy part is we will see further developments for Brown Tatum Timelord.  White should provide improved shooting.  Grant knows his role and will be better focusing on his ball handling and post game.  This team will not be better with Durant and no smart or JB