Yes, The Boston Celtics Should Trade Jaylen Brown For Kevin Durant (Maybe)

The Celtics will not get Kevin Durant. They certainly will not, or, at least, almost certainly. Maybe. But then, they do have the ability to put forth one of the best packages the Nets would receive for their erstwhile star, who stunned the NBA world on Thursday just ahead of the start of free agency by asking the Nets to trade him. The Celtics, then, could potentially trade for Kevin Durant.

A wide swath of Boston backers suggested on Thursday that the Celtics should not trade for Durant, even if the Nets were amenable to a deal and Durant—who has the Suns and Heat atop his wish list, according to reports—came around to the idea of playing in Boston. That’s understandable, because the cost for a Durant trade would start with Jaylen Brown, who is 25 and just helped lead the Celtics to the NBA Finals, which included a sweep of Durant’s Nets.

Understandable, but still illogical. Sure, Durant will be 34 when next season opens, and is heading into the first of a four-year, $164 million contract. It’s a red flag, trading a burgeoning star for a guy who is nine years older.

Kevin Durant Carried A Heavy Nets Load

But it is Kevin Durant, and Durant remains one of the three best players in the NBA, even as age and wear-and-tear take something of a toll. His performance in the Nets’ sweep at the hands of the Celtics is held up as a sign that his body could be giving way, as he shot an abominable 38.6% from the field. No question he was physically beat by the time that series was over, but why shouldn’t he be? He played 44.0 minutes per game in the playoffs, first in the league.

He had a stellar season, averaging 29.9 points on 51.8% shooting, and 38.3% 3-point shooting, and did so despite carrying a ridiculously heavy load for Brooklyn all year. Kyrie Irving, of course, sat out for much of the season because of his refusal to comply with the New York City mandate and be vaccinated against Covid-19, and a third member of the team’s alleged Big Three, James Harden, simply struggled for much of the year, especially early on. Harden was traded at the deadline for Ben Simmons, who did not play at all for Brooklyn.

Durant missed 27 games with injuries, but still played 2,047 minutes for Brooklyn, second on the team. He averaged 37.2 minutes, the most he’s logged since he was 25 and playing in Oklahoma City. He took 20.3 shots per game, tied for second-most in his NBA career. Remember the middle of last December when Durant won back-to-back games for the Nets with a starting five of himself, Patty Mills, Nic Claxton, David Duke and Blake Griffin? It is only natural that Durant was tired in April. He had no supporting cast for much of the previous year.

He is still among the very small group of NBA super-elite, a group that includes Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Stephen Curry and probably no one else (apologies, Joel Embiid, Nikola Jokic, Luka Doncic and Jayson Tatum). If your team is close to championship contention and has a chance to acquire a player on that list, you absolutely take it.

Brown is younger than Durant and in five years, surely will be the better player. He put up 23.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists last year. But the Celtics have the chance to win now, and chances to win now are rare. The Celtics should not overpay for Durant—a package of Jaylen Brown, a draft pick or two, Payton Pritchard (or Grant Williams, but not both) and Daniel Theis as salary ballast is about as high as Boston should take its offer. No Marcus Smart. No Robert Williams.

But drop Durant into a lineup with USA Basketball teammate Jayson Tatum and the Celtics have, arguably, the best offensive one-two punch in the NBA. Smart and Williams would give them an almost equally imposing one-two punch on the defensive end. Al Horford and Derrick White would be chipping in, too. Durant would not need to launch so many shots as he did last year, would have a suitable supporting cast around him.

He’d be a championship-caliber player on a championship-ready team.

It would sting to trade away Jaylen Brown, who has become a very well-respected member of the Celtics on and off the floor. Danny Ainge would not do it, but his successor, Brad Stevens, has been in much more of an immediate gratification mode. He’s more likely to make that move. In the end, the Celtics might find it impossible to get into the Durant sweepstakes at all. But if they were to make it happen, they would be the favorites to get over the hump and win the 2023 Larry O’Brien trophy.

That’s too important an opportunity to pass up.