Jaylen Brown is no stranger to trade rumors

Since the night Jaylen Brown was drafted in 2016 he's been no stranger to trade rumors. And if you want to go back further, several media members and fans wanted the Celtics to trade that 2016 pick during that 2015-2016 season for Al Horford. Of course Horford would end up signing with Boston out right anyway and it would have been extremely foolish to have waisted those Nets picks trading for him months prior. But that never stops people from coming up with dumb trade ideas!

Remember the idiotic Jaylen Brown for Bradley Beal trade ideas? The foolish thought was that Beal would fit better with Tatum and insure that Jayson re-signed with the Celtics and didn't walk in free agency. Beal soon became a horrendous contract and a washed up player. There was also the James Harden from the Rockets silliness as well as the Brown plus Marcus Smart and Time Lord and picks for Damian Lillard idea which would have been a death blow to Boston just as the Bucks' trade for Lillard sunk their present and future.

Of course not all of the trade rumors/ideas were idiotic ones. The Dylan Harper pick, Vassell, K. Johnson, and additional first round picks potential offer from San Antonio last June would of ended up a win for the Celtics. I remember trying to push for a Jaylen Brown to the Kings trade for Tyrese Halliburton which Celtics fans hated at the time, but would have also been a great deal.

Could Jimmy Butler have been a better fit for those 2016-2023 Celtics teams and gotten them over the hump? Quite possibly. Trading both Jaylen and Tatum to the Pelicans for Anthony Davis would have been a giant fail. Scoot Henderson would have been another bad bet.

The reality is for one reason or another Jaylen Brown is in trade rumors/ideas every year. My guess is it comes with the territory of being sought after, not being the best player on the team (most objective followers of the NBA have always had Tatum a step above), and partly due to playing a very similar position/role as the aformentioned best player.

What was the one year Brown wasn't in any trade rumors? That would be summer of 2024 coming off a championship. Every other year at least the idea of trading Brown was brought up in terms of how to take the next step and win a title (or another).

You shouldn't feel too bad for Jaylen. This comes with the job and he's paid very handsomely at said job. The Lakers traded their second best player in Anthony Davis the moment they had a chance to upgrade to Luka Doncic. The New York Knicks would have Karl-Anthony Towns to the Bucks for Giannis this past season if Milwaukee was ready to pull the trigger.

If your second best player isn't in trade rumors, your front office likely isn't all the compentent or your team is in a small media market where people don't care about winning as much. Even if your best player is in trade rumors that's no disrespect. If Victor Wembanyama demanded out of San Antonio tomorrow Brad Stevens would be willing to trade Tatum, and every other NBA team would also be willing to trader their best player.

The lesson likely learned from all the years of Jaylen trade rumors is to avoid trading for any player based on their past experience if they are on the wrong side of thirty. For that reason while losing out on Giannis Antetokounmpo stings at the moment it could end up a blessing in disguise.

Celtics fans like all fanatics grow super attached to their players and I remember the almost god-like love many had for Marcus Smart and to a lesser extent Robert Williams. Guess what? They got over it shortly after they were dealt and the trades led to Banner 18. The same fans that are cheering that the Giannis trade didn't go through and say they wouldn't trade Brown for anything less than some preposterous unrealistic heist of like Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, and multiple first round picks, or Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and (as always) multiple first round picks, would one percent get over a Brown trade and cheer on the Celtics to a new title.

Rationale, objective fans know that "you have to trade Jaylen Brown" and "you should never trade Jaylen Brown" philosophies are both foolish. Fortunately for the Celtics they have been run by rationale, objective basketball minds like Danny Ainge and Brad Stevens. Stevens is not going to trade Brown just to change things up, nor is he going to pass on trading him if it means the team will likely be better off either now or in the near future.

At the end of the day it's no insult to Jaylen to be the piece asked for in trades for (at the time) prime superstars like Durant or Giannis. Does it feel good? Probably not. Does it also suck to see some fans want you gone? Very likely. But even on social media which has become the cesspool of society, for every negative Brown comment, there are twenty other ones telling him how loved he is. So between getting extreme adoration from 95 percent plus of fans and $70 million a year to play a game you love, Jaylen Brown continues to live a very charmed life. He will be alright. Trust me.


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