The Portland Trail Blazers acquired Grizzlies star Ja Morant on Monday afternoon following a weekend of reports connecting them to Jaylen Brown. The Blazers sent Jerami Grant, who had the team’s primary salary-matching contract, to Memphis as part of the deal. Shams Charania reported shortly after that the Blazers are not engaged on Brown.
While the Blazers still have the ability, from a salary, roster crunch and draft compensation standpoint, to get back in on Brown later, their departure from negotiations could effectively end the Celtics’ hope of trading Brown for a significant return. Portland had significant matching salaries, young prospects at guard and center like Scoot Henderson, Shaedon Sharpe and Donovan Clingan to offer. Multiple reports indicated Portland’s preference to keep Clingan, Toumani Camara and Deni Avdija in any deal.
Ultimately, they landed Morant, who will join Damian Lillard, Avdija and the Blazers’ young core without giving up any significant player. Former Celtics champion Jrue Holiday also remained with two years left on his extension that he signed with Boston before his trade to Portland last year. He could replace Grant as the primary salary-matching player in the deal, and would certainly help the Celtics’ attempt to remain competitive around Tatum following any Brown deal. But none appears imminent at the moment.
The Blazers, if they’ve moved on, would join the Raptors, who appear focused on Kawhi Leonard, Hawks, who declined Jonathan Kuminga’s team option on Monday, Timberwolves, who traded for LaMelo Ball instead, Clippers, reportedly focused on a post-Leonard youth movement and Hornets as teams that Michael Scotto connected to Brown who no longer seem interested. The Nuggets, who Bill Simmons touted as a potential suitor on Sunday, and Nets still have enough matching salary and assets to make them worth monitoring, but it’s clear some combination of Boston’s high asking price and Brown’s relatively lower trade value render a deal unlikely.
That’s for now. Circumstances around the league can change at any point this summer. Free agency looms on Tuesday, however, and with it will additional opportunities as rival teams move forward with alternative paths to improvement like Morant. Scotto ruled out Orlando, Brooklyn and New Orleans as oft-cited Brown destinations, while Detroit’s restricted free agency negotiations with Jalen Duren could allow for Boston-Detroit talks later.
For now, the Celtics will need to operate independently of Brown’s future, beginning that work by clearing two roster spots by declining Amari Williams and Max Shulga’s team options. Neemias Queta, Jordan Walsh and Dalano Banton returned on theirs, with Walsh and Queta eligible for extensions beyond next year. Banton’s contract stays non-guaranteed until January, allowing for a third roster spot to emerge.
Those three, or four should Brown go out in a deal, that would allow the Celtics to take on Holiday, Henderson, Sharpe and Clingan in a potential Portland deal. There’s also the chance of a multi-team deal emerging from talks, with the Pelicans reportedly willing to consider parting with Trey Murphy III for at least three first-rounders. The Celtics have no realistic path to making that happen unless they acquire more than their currently allowed three to go out in a trade. The Blazers still hold the rights to their 2029 selection — from Holiday.
Of course, the Celtics could simply retain Brown, perhaps motivating him further with whatever limited market they assessed for him. As convoluted as that case sounds, Boston, limited from a cap standpoint, Tatum, continuing to return from his Achilles tear and Brown, reportedly snubbed by the Bucks as the starting point of their rebuild, need each other more than ever. And as Brad Stevens long believed, the Brown and Tatum combination still gives the Celtics at least an outside chance of contending.
Brown is signed for three more seasons.
- John Karalis reported that Amari Williams will return to Boston on a two-way deal. Williams should now join Hugo González, who sources told CLNS Media intends participate in Summer League alongside his obligations to the Spanish national team next month, Chris Cenac Jr., Dillon Mitchell and undrafted free agents Milos Uzan, Chauncey Wiggins and Tucker DeVries. Former Spurs two-way player Kyle Mangas will join them too, according to Adam Himmelsbach. It’s unclear whether restricted free agent John Tonje and Shulga will participate with their Boston futures currently uncertain.
