The Celtics’ reported interest in trading All-Star Jaylen Brown to the Brooklyn Nets for former MVP Kevin Durant apparently did not sit well Boston’s Jayson Tatum, who says he wants the reigning Eastern Conference champions’ core to stay intact.
‘I played with him during the Olympics,’ Tatum said when asked about Durant, who has reportedly requested trade out of Brooklyn. ‘Obviously, he’s a great player. But that’s not my decision. I love our team. I love the guys we got.’
Tatum was asked about the trade rumor at the Manhattan premiere of ‘NYC Point Gods,’ a Showtime documentary about the city’s legendary basketball scene.
He and Brown helped guide the Celtics to the NBA Finals in 2021-22 after sweeping Durant’s Nets in the first round of the postseason.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported early Monday morning that Boston inquired about Durant and was willing to relinquish Brown.
Brown has not commented on the report directly, but did tweet ‘SMH’ – the abbreviation for ‘shaking my head.’
The Celtics’ reported interest in trading All-Star Jaylen Brown (right) to the Brooklyn Nets for former MVP Kevin Durant (near left) apparently did not sit well Boston’s Jayson Tatum (near right, far left), who says he wants the reigning Eastern Conference champs’ core to stay intact
Al Horford’s brother Josh tweeted that he thinks the reported trade rumor is just ‘bs’
Boston’s Al Horford (pictured) hasn’t weighed in on the trade rumor, but his brother did
While the Celtics’ reported interest is only just surfacing, Wojnarowski wrote that Boston’s front office, led by Brad Stevens, has been in regular contact with Nets general manager Sean Marks. Meanwhile, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has since reported that the Nets are not actively engaged in any trade discussions regarding Durant.
Further dismissing the potential for a Brown-Durant trade is the brother of Celtics star Al Horford.
‘My gut just tells me that report is bs,’ tweeted Josh Horford, the younger brother of Al.
Tatum’s professed desire to keep the Celtics’ roster mostly intact comes after Boston acquired talented guard Malcolm Brogdon in a trade with the Indiana Pacers and signed free agent forward Danilo Gallinari.
Earlier in the 2021-22 campaign, before the Celtics hit their stride in the second half of the season, there had been public calls to break up Boston’s All-Star pairing of Tatum and Brown with the club struggling to get to .500.
For his part, Tatum has refused to feed into that narrative, routinely defending his relationship with Brown.
Celtics star Jayson Tatum embraces his former Team USA teammate Kevin Durant after Boston swept the Brooklyn Nets in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs in April
One potential obstacle to a deal is the Nets’ reported asking price for the 33-year-old Durant, who was tied for third in the NBA in scoring last season at 29.9 points per game.
According to Woj, the Nets want multiple unprotected first-round picks, pick swaps and several impactful players.
The demand is somewhat similar to the trade that brought Brown to Boston: Brooklyn’s 2013 acquisition of Celtics stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.
The Nets, under general manager Billy King at the time, relinquished unprotected first-round picks in 2014, 2016 an 2018, as well as additional pick swaps, which allowed the Celtics to draft Brown and Tatum in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, managed one second-round playoff appearance in Pierce’s only season with the Nets.
Durant still has $198 million and four years remaining on his contract, while Brown has two seasons and $56 million left on his.
Green reacted to Monday’s news with a brief tweet reading ‘SMH’ for ‘shaking my head’
Jaylen Brown seen defending Kevin Durant during Game 3 of their first-round series in April
Durant’s future in Brooklyn has been complicated by the situation with his current Nets teammate, Kyrie Irving, who opted into the final year and $37 million of his contract to stay with the team, but was rumored to be pushing for his own exit.
The crosstown rival New York Knicks as well as the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers, as well as the Philadelphia 76ers would be interested in acquiring Irving, according to various reports.
The Lakers are the most intriguing option given Irving’s history with LA star LeBron James, his former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate. The two famously won a title together in Cleveland, coming back from a 3-1 Finals deficit against the Golden State Warriors in 2016 to capture the club’s first championship, but the relationship fizzled soon after.
Irving ultimately asked for a trade in 2017, and the team complied, sending him to the Boston Celtics. As ESPN reported at the time, the New Jersey native no longer wanted to play alongside James, citing a desire to be a team’s focal point. The two have remained hospitable when facing off on the court and are typically seen greeting each other with a hug.
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An unceremonious departure from Brooklyn would be the third of Irving’s career, following Cleveland and, ultimately, Boston.
After two strong seasons with the Celtics, Irving walked back a pledge to re-sign with the team to ink a deal with the rival Nets, along with Durant, in July of 2019.
Kyrie Irving’s days in Brooklyn may be numbered despite the All-Star guard’s previous statements assuring Nets fans he doesn’t ‘plan on going anywhere.’ Irving (left) joined the Nets in 2019 with Kevin Durant (right) but the two have failed to meet expectations in Brooklyn
