What we know – and what we don’t – about the rumored Jaylen Brown – Kevin Durant trade talks

When are trade talks not actually trade talks, but gauging a player’s value, or putting out feelers for a potential future bid on a star? Front office employees of all 30 teams in the NBA regularly engage each other in hypothetical discussions about what a trade might look like between franchises that have little to do with actual interest in pulling the trigger barring an especially felicitous match for both sides.

But there is always the chance that one party involved in such a scenario will take those conversations and misrepresent them for their own interests, which can cause turbulence in the organization on the other side of the conversation. The picture of such a process perhaps playing out between the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets is still fuzzy.

But, there seems to be a growing consensus that the Celtics contacted the Nets in doing due diligence about the availability of Kevin Durant via trade, and in the process found themselves sucked into a leverage play for a tepid market for Durant’s services as a result.

How real those talks were and whether you believe Boston was seriously entertaining dealing star forward Jaylen Brown depends on who you are reading.

At present, a day removed from the initial emergence of such talks, a continuum ranges of reports those talks were fairly earnest to those suggesting that that was anything but the case.

One thing seems clear: the Nets and Celtics did indeed communicate to each other about the possibility of trading for Durant, which is not exactly surprising given about half the teams in the NBA also made such calls.

But just how serious are such talks, really?

“The Celtics’ most serious discussion—as first reported by The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Monday—in which Brad Stevens’ front office was amenable to parting with Jaylen Brown, came weeks ago at the beginning of July,” writes Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, who appears to fall among those who believe the Celtics had earnest interest in trading for KD.

And as many have noted, such talks would likely begin with Brown, earnest or testing the waters hypothetically. And hypothetical seems to be the frame favored by veteran Heavy reporter Steve Bulpett’s source in a recent article on the topic.

“I’m not sure there’s a team that DIDN’T do their due diligence on this,” shared another exec in contact with Bulpett.

“When the Kevin Durants of the world become available, I’m not sure there’s any team that doesn’t call and see if there’s something that can be done,” they added.

“When you have players of that ilk, and there’s certainly not many of them, I think everybody kicks the tires and takes a look to see what would be involved in that.”

The truth is likely somewhere in between purely hypothetical inquiries and a serious interest in dealing for Durant, as alluded to by ESPN’s Zach Lowe on his semi-eponymous podcast “The Lowe Post” with frequent guest and oftentimes Celtics analyst Tim Bontemps.

Simply put, NBA teams do NBA business by exploring all avenues a team COULD improve itself, and then spend time internally debating whether the pros and cons of such a move are worth the asking price.

“Rumors can be embellished,” writes the Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn.

This does not mean that such speculation — whether intended to be pursued with any degree of seriousness or not — has the potential to be a destabilizing force unto itself, as Washburn’s reporting suggests.

Especially when weaponized by other franchises to their own ends, which appears to be what The Athletic NBA insider Jared Weiss has been hearing, as he writes that he is being told that “the Nets are looking to drive the market and avoid the kerfuffle of Durant no-showing for training camp.”

And while Brown has appeared to be understanding of such quotidian NBA practices in the past, the level of concern among fans and the team both ought to be elevated after this most recent leak.

While the Georgia native did indeed take to Twitter to share two characters less than the minimum possible on the ongoing rumors swirling about a potential trade to the Nets, reports are bubbling up from behind the scenes that Brown is happy with his team and situation.

His near-certain move to test the waters in unrestricted free agency at the end of the 2023-24 season simply due to the fact his earnings potential will be tens of millions of dollars more than if he signs an extension sooner may have some a bit skittish, but even in the face of such rumors, Brown has signaled his interests are with Boston — at least for now.

Per Washburn, “Brown is invested in Boston. He enjoys playing for the Celtics and wants to be part of the team’s bright future.”

A similar sentiment was reflected in the reporting of Weiss, who says that despite “all the hiccups in Brown’s relationship with the fanbase, he’s still committed to Boston,” even feeling “perplexed” by rumors he might not re-sign circulating earlier this offseason.

“In spite of the trade talks, Brown wants to be in Boston,” suggests the Athletic analyst.

At present, only the front offices of each respective team truly know the extent and seriousness of the talks between the two ball clubs, and as is the case in even serious trade talks for such stars, it is more likely than not that this particular thread of the KD saga will have no impact on the Celtics roster.

But hopefully, the right conversations are being had internally between Brown and the front office given the importance of the Cal-Berkeley product and the future of the Boston franchise.

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