Following up on recent reports connecting the Nuggets to Celtics star Jaylen Brown, Brian Robb of MassLive hears from a source that a deal is “highly unlikely” due to Denver’s limited draft assets — the Nuggets currently only have one tradable future first-round pick.
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype, the Celtics are one of several teams — including the Lakers, Heat, Clippers and Magic — to express trade interest in Nuggets forward Cameron Johnson. Bennett Durando of The Denver Post (Twitter link) believes Johnson will be dealt in the coming days.
Boston has also “kept tabs” on Aaron Gordon, per Scotto, and Robb confirms the Celtics have shown in Gordon in the past.
Still, as Robb observes, a trade sending Gordon and Johnson to Boston and Brown to Denver wouldn’t help the Nuggets reduce their payroll or land the Celtics the big man they’re known to be looking for. Robb also hears the Celtics aren’t expected to have interest in Jamal Murray due to his maximum-salary contract.
Scotto’s sources said the Raptors are among the teams with interest in Brown, and Robb reports that Scottie Barnes is “not on the table in any trade talks.” That’s not surprising, since the idea of trading for Brown would presumably be to find a complementary star alongside Barnes, not remove him from the equation.
Here are some more trade rumors from around the NBA:
- Robb confirms from sources that the Hawks, Clippers and Nets have “at least” expressed exploratory trade interest in Brown, who made the All-NBA second team in 2025/26, and says a Trail Blazers offer “would likely” include Jerami Grant, Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe, and first-round picks.
- If the Trail Blazers are unable to acquire their “preferred target” in Brown, they would be interested in trading for Gordon, according to Scotto of HoopsHype. The Heat also viewed Gordon as a fallback option if they had struck out on Giannis Antetokounmpo, league sources tell Scotto. That’s probably a moot point now that the Greek superstar is headed to Miami.
- Before Tyler Herro was traded to the Bucks as part of the package for Antetokounmpo and before the Lakers agreed to re-sign Austin Reaves on a four-year, maximum-salary deal, Los Angeles explored a trade with the Heat that would have involved Herro, Kel’el Ware and multiple first-round picks, Scotto reports. The Nets also checked in with Miami regarding what it would have taken to acquire Herro, per HoopsHype. Rival teams continue to view Herro as a trade candidate and are curious which direction the Bucks will take in the wake of the blockbuster deal, Scotto adds.
