The end to the Boston Celtics’ 2024-25 campaign was a colossal disaster.
The Celtics’ stud forward, Jayson Tatum, suffered an awful Achilles injury against the New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs, which ultimately sealed Boston’s postseason fate (the Knicks secured a 4-2 series victory to advance to the Eastern Conference finals).
Before Boston endures a challenging 2025-26 season, Sports Illustrated’s Jackson Caudell and Rohan Raman predict the 2024 NBA champions will trade their superstar guard to the San Antonio Spurs to assist Victor Wembanyama.
"Boston not only fell short in their attempt to repeat as NBA champions, but they lost star Jayson Tatum to an Achilles injury, and he is likely to be out for the entire 2025-2026 season,” Caudell and Raman wrote Saturday.
"Not only that, but Boston is facing some restrictive finances due to being in the second apron, and all that comes with that.”
"Specifically, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are two obvious candidates to be moved elsewhere. Porzingis is consistently unavailable for Boston and has looked hobbled throughout the 2025 playoffs after he missed most of the championship run.”
"While it seems very far-fetched, Jaylen Brown could be traded as well. because he would bring the most back in a trade. I don't think the Celtics want to trade Brown, what if they get an offer they can't refuse?”
In Caudell and Raman’s three-team trade proposal, the Atlanta Hawks would receive Keldon Johnson, Sam Hauser, and Blake Wesley; the Spurs would receive Brown, Terance Mann, Vit Krejci, a 2027 second-round pick, and a 2031 second-round pick; and the Celtics would receive Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, a 2025 first-round pick, and a 2027 first-round pick.
Efficiency-wise, Brown struggled in this year’s playoffs. The California product averaged 22.1 points per game in 11 postseason contests but only connected on 44.1% of his field goals and 33.3% of his three-point jumpers.
Still, it would be preposterous to suggest the 28-year-old isn’t the Celtics' second most important contributor.
From turning on the jets and exploding to the rim with force to picking up the slack when Tatum can’t find an offensive rhythm, Brown has proven to be a dependable No. 2 scoring option for Boston.
For that reason, the Celtics should steer clear of Caudell and Raman’s trade idea and attempt to pair Brown with a temporary Tatum replacement this offseason.
