Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens held multiple meetings with Jaylen Brown before Brown’s name surfaced in trade talks with the Bucks involving Giannis Antetokounmpo, according to Jay King of The Athletic.
“With all the rumor mill and all that stuff, and his name being splashed all over the place, that’s not easy,” Stevens said on Monday, per Ben Golliver of ESPN. “We certainly wanted to be as proactive and up-front with that as possible. I thought we had really good, candid conversations. … I’ll always keep our conversations private. I think it’s appropriate regardless of what the content of those conversations is like. What I said is really true: I don’t love the fact any time it’s a big, public thing. We try to keep things as close to the vest and as quiet as possible. The rumor mill is the rumor mill, and there’s going to be a lot of noise out there.”
Stevens stopped short of predicting whether Brown would remain with the team or be dealt this offseason while emphasizing that Brown is still “valued” by the organization.
“Jaylen Brown is a big part of us,” Stevens said. “I’m never going to predict the future, but … the one thing I want to make very clear is how valued he’s always been. He’s been amazing. He’s been an amazing teammate. Great person to be around. Whether that run ends 10 years from now when he retires or before, there’s a lot to celebrate. We have a great relationship and an open relationship where we talk about everything. But I don’t want to predict the future. But I look at it as, ‘This is our team.’”
Brown is coming off a career year, serving as the team’s top option with Jayson Tatum recovering from his Achilles injury. He averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, earning All-NBA second-team honors. However, the Celtics’ postseason run was abbreviated, as they were upset by Philadelphia in the first round.
Despite the franchise’s championship in 2024, there are questions whether the Tatum-Brown duo can deliver another title. Brown still has three more years remaining on his five-year, super-max contract. He’s eligible to sign a two-year extension worth an estimated $142MM on July 26.
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With Brown turning 30 early next season, Boston’s front office may not be inclined to make that type of commitment at this time. Stevens indicated he would continue to stay in touch with Brown and his agent this offseason.
In the meantime, Brown’s name will surely remain in the rumor mill.
“I think there’s always going to have to be conversations,” Stevens said. “There’s always gonna have to be get-togethers, there’s always gonna have to be things that you talk about. I’m very certain that — again, it’s not easy to be in the national rumor mill. Again, I’m extremely understanding of that. So, yeah, there always has to be discussions. … That’s why I just try to be as upfront as possible and as candid as possible at the beginning, long before any talks begin, so that our guys understand that being here and being in the limelight, they’re gonna have a lot of attention on them regardless. And then, they also understand that there are things that are exaggerated at this time of the year and there are things that are real, so they’ve been through all that stuff and felt all that stuff. But it doesn’t mean it’s easy.”
