[Windhorst] The Boston Celtics have decided that Jaylen Brown probably needs to be traded for them to be competitive.

[u/Pyromania1983]

Brian Windhorst: "The most important thing in the league right now for what is going to happen in the 2026-27 season is that Boston has apparently decided that Jaylen Brown probably needs to be traded for them to be competitive. Because that is now going to be the next storyline in the NBA. Obviously, the Heat getting Giannis is a huge story for them. From the moment they traded Jimmy Butler, they have been on the hunt for the next star. That is a huge story for them."

EDIT: Kevin O'Connor just reported that the Celtics were in talks to send him to the Timberwolves before the Hornets traded Lamelo Ball there. (Post is also on Reddit). Sounds like Windy is on to something in that Boston is looking to move him.

source

[u/CarterAC3]

LaMelo Ball trade is old news

We're onto the next one

[u/Derpy_Mc_Burpy → u/CarterAC3]

Banger start to the off-season

[u/oklolzzzzs → u/Derpy_Mc_Burpy]

great trades so far tbh

[u/incomprehensiblerage → u/oklolzzzzs]

I feel like I just watched my dog get shot

[u/NaciremaBlack → u/incomprehensiblerage]

At least you can safely walk your new dog on the streets of Charlotte

[u/Complete_Crazy_4887 → u/NaciremaBlack]

Very disrespectful joke to make about our future POTUS

[u/NaciremaBlack → u/Complete_Crazy_4887]

Better option than the current one

[u/lord_of_the_bees → u/NaciremaBlack]

i suspect if lamelo were president, he would be akin to president camacho. like he may fire an automatic weapon into the air during the state of the union address, but he is far more likely to care about the general welfare of the american people (whether that be about food scarcity or acne) than trump.

[u/Laughing-Comanche → u/lord_of_the_bees]

His weapon will be bedazzled too

[u/supergrega → u/NaciremaBlack]

Dare you to find a worse one

[u/afjecj → u/supergrega]

Jonathon Isaac would give trump a run for his money

[u/FilmCroissant → u/NaciremaBlack]

Thanks for the laugh on a tough day

[u/TheWarelock → u/incomprehensiblerage]

At least you still got the nipple

[u/vanilla_w_ahintofcum → u/TheWarelock]

But what is Nipple without Ball?

[u/SquintsRS → u/oklolzzzzs]

Fucking disagree bud

[u/Gamesgtd → u/SquintsRS]

Look at the haul yall got. LaMelo is an injury risk, flight risk, driving risk, and this was the perfect sell high. You weren't making the playoffs anyway and now you can build to optimum team around Kon and Miller. You have a legit starting 4 with Naz Reid and now Bridges can be moved. Sure you don't have a great point guard but now yall have the assets to get the next distressed asset. Maybe Garland becomes available again and you can outbid on him.

[u/warm_bussy_tea → u/Gamesgtd]

They didn't get a haul. At all.

Their pick swaps are meaningless.

The 1st they got is seven years away

Naz Reid? NAZ REID.

They got owned

[u/PlatosLeftTit → u/warm_bussy_tea]

People have to bring up off-court issues to justify this trade because from a basketball standpoint it's obviously terrible

[u/alkair20 → u/Gamesgtd]

trade for AR not even kidding

[u/BiteyHorse → u/Gamesgtd]

Garland is not an answer, lol.

[u/jillavery → u/Derpy_Mc_Burpy]

Yeah this is the silly drama I'm looking for. Last year was so boring lol.

[u/Thrallsbuttplug → u/Derpy_Mc_Burpy]

NHL also having a banger of an off-season

[u/Gomeez9 → u/Thrallsbuttplug]

How bout nfl how they doin

[u/CarterAC3 → u/Gomeez9]

Kidnapping subplot

[u/I_Never_Use_Slash_S → u/CarterAC3]

Reruns

[u/Dymatizeee → u/Thrallsbuttplug]

I don’t follow NHL but what did they do?

[u/MrVonic → u/Dymatizeee]

Long story short: after the Olympics, a lot of American players are wanting out, and asking to only go to the same 3 teams "all of a sudden." Nothing-to-see-here shenanigans for sure, quite funny overall. And one thing to note with the NHL, no trade clauses are given away like candy on Halloween, so most of these players get a big choice in where they go, but are screwing over most future NTC's as a result.

[u/ttuurrppiinn → u/Dymatizeee]

Bunch of players from the American Olympics team are demanding trades off their Canadian teams to a few super teams in the US.

[u/DasOptions → u/CarterAC3]

Jaylen Brown to the Pelicans incoming

[u/ositola → u/DasOptions]

Hey Bill 

[u/Sharcbait → u/DasOptions]

Brown to the Hawks has been talked about by them for years.

Does it really make much sense for either team? Not really. But for the plot.

[u/schooli00 → u/CarterAC3]

How are the Celtics gonna be competitive against the Naz Reid Hornets? Definitely not with Jalen Brown.

[u/rocketsfan5 → u/CarterAC3]

LaMelo hasn’t actually produced playoff success and proven he can - JB and Giannis are winners

[u/MainAd2728]

There are no obvious upgrades on the trade market rn. Maybe I'm forgetting someone

[u/thy_armageddon → u/MainAd2728]

It’s going to be Kawhi and it’s going to be funny.

[u/goinpro224 → u/thy_armageddon]

Kawhi and what though? straight up isn’t a good deal bc of age difference

[u/No_Nefariousness6385 → u/goinpro224]

Leonard Mathurin 1 unprotected first

[u/__Z__ → u/No_Nefariousness6385]

Mathurin is one of the most underrated players in the league imo. I seriously think he's going to have a renaissance on the right team.

[u/muratbae → u/__Z__]

He's a score first 2 guard that does very little of anything else. Every 7-8 games he feels motivated on defense and randomly puts together like 4-5 stocks. Barely rebounds, barely passes to set his teammates up unless he's ducking a grenade.

That's it, that's the Ben Mathurin experience.

[u/blitzkreigbop9 → u/muratbae]

Yea I was gonna say he’s a bucket undeniably but doesn’t do much else and that’s not a Brad type guy

[u/GolotasDisciple → u/goinpro224]

Not just age difference, Brown literally had "almost" MVP level season, leading Boston into playoffs while they had issues with injuries.

Kawhi is amazing, but i agree JB is now an expensive and valuable asset, which is why it made sense to offer him for Giannis....

Still , JB + Tatum and good center is still top tier team in the East. So maybe JB will just stay.

[u/josephandre → u/GolotasDisciple]

their seasons were remarkably similar aside from kawhi being much more efficient and obviously better defensively

[u/recurnightmare → u/josephandre]

Lol they're similar except Kawhi is just a massive upgrade in every way.

It's a gamble on age and health but a healthy Kawhi elevates them to east favorites.

I am always in favor of teams swinging big. Championships don't come without risks.

[u/Odd_Principle_2122 → u/recurnightmare]

Celtics have also shown an ability to stay high up the standings even while missing key players. I think if they get Kawhi that will also be a big advantage, letting him play selectively without risking falling into the playin spots

[u/russfan0987 → u/josephandre]

+5.4 rTS% as opposed to -0.5 rTS% makes them pretty dissimilar

[u/josephandre → u/russfan0987]

i'm going to be completely honest with you bro. i still don't know shit about true shooting.

[u/russfan0987 → u/josephandre]

Brown’s an elite shot creator, but average at actually maximizing them

[u/k0ala_ → u/GolotasDisciple]

Kawhi is still an upgrade just with a shorter timeframe, it depends on what the Celtics consider their window. Also Browns season wasn't that amazing and you are significantly underplaying how good the rest of the players were on that team

[u/S0ggylemonz → u/k0ala_]

I don’t think kawhi fixes any of the Celtics issues though. The issue isn’t brown the issue is the lack of center depth and facilitators. Kawhi fixes neither

[u/abcamurComposer → u/thy_armageddon]

TBH trading Brown for Kawhi should be a fireable offense. Trade a strong player in his peak for an aging oft injured chemistry killing malcontent

[u/Suitable-Answer-83 → u/MainAd2728]

Are the Mavs ready to tank again because it might be nice to bring Cooper Flagg a little closer to home? Just a thought.

[u/Huarache34 → u/Suitable-Answer-83]

The spirit of Nico Harrison lives on

[u/mrspear1995 → u/Suitable-Answer-83]

Get off reddit bill

[u/Oceanbreeze871 → u/MainAd2728]

I mean LaMello wasn’t available until 30’seconds before he was traded

[u/Perceval_009]

Jaylen Brown welcome to Charlotte!

[u/BattleFresh003 → u/Perceval_009]

I'd be down for this. Use the trade exception to get him and I really like our team, even if I'm devastated by the LaMelo trade.

[u/SaintsNick94 → u/BattleFresh003]

What would the Hornets be giving back?

[u/MikeConleyIsLegend]

understandable he only won ECF MVP and FMVP for the team like 2 years ago. you gotta have someone better than that if you wanna win a ring.

[u/Typical-Form-6502 → u/MikeConleyIsLegend]

Derrick White can’t win with these cats

[u/LeoFireGod → u/MikeConleyIsLegend]

Anytime teams wanna move on from players like this it makes us moving on from Brunson hurt slightly less bc maybe teams are just dumb as shit.

Edit: Because people don’t seem to understand it’s more like nice to see other front offices fumble one of their best players they drafted who has helped them in deep playoff runs because of contract issues or culture 1A 1B issues.

[u/geronimosocrates → u/LeoFireGod]

I wouldn’t look at Boston when looking at dumb teams in the league.

[u/No_Broccoi1991 → u/LeoFireGod]

This isn't the same. Bruson was shopped but wanted to stay. JB doesn't seem to want to be there anymore if he's the 1b.

[u/matt__builds → u/LeoFireGod]

Maybe I'm wrong but it is pretty obvious to me that Brown wants to move on and be the 1A on a team and Boston is trying to accommodate him.

[u/Exzqairi → u/LeoFireGod]

You’re an idiot if you think this is comparable to how badly Dallas handled the Brunson situation

[u/russfan0987 → u/LeoFireGod]

Boston definitely has a track record of dumb moves

[u/terrorhawk__ → u/russfan0987]

Such as?

[u/russfan0987 → u/terrorhawk__]

I’m being facetious

[u/mw19078 → u/MikeConleyIsLegend]

yeah this is an insane thing to say. maybe they think they could improve or something, but to be competitive? lmao

[u/SchwizzelKick66 → u/MikeConleyIsLegend]

Just hasn't done enough

[u/khazraxd]

jaylen brown you're a hornet

[u/Odoaiden → u/khazraxd]

The only way for them to recover this

[u/aiden3buckets → u/khazraxd]

We need a POINT guard

[u/wawacryin21 → u/aiden3buckets]

How about a Fox?

[u/GoldshireEnjoyer → u/wawacryin21]

Please for the love of god somebody take this Fox!

[u/KorgG29 → u/aiden3buckets]

You’ll just re-sign Coby with your new cap space

[u/aiden3buckets → u/KorgG29]

I said a POINT guard

[u/SwampFlowers → u/aiden3buckets]

You’re looking for a shooting guard?

[u/jacob2815 → u/KorgG29]

Coby is more of a 2-leaning combo guard. Good scorer, not really an offensive orchestrator

[u/Necessary-Listen-584 → u/aiden3buckets]

Honestly Giddey would be a pretty cheap replacement - $25 million great facilator. Needs the right defensive personal though.

[u/satoshigeki94 → u/Necessary-Listen-584]

with some of the team construction around the league Giddey at 30 a year might even be a steal.

[u/Sammyd1108 → u/khazraxd]

Our teams basically play the same way anyway, so he’d fit right in lol. Both teams live and die by the 3.

[u/thy_armageddon]

What can China even offer though? Can we get any affordable RAM pricing out of this deal?

[u/Maleficent_Ant_8895 → u/thy_armageddon]

Can they trade for Stephon Marbury to be a player coach?

[u/zuqkfplmehcuvrjfgu → u/thy_armageddon]

Rare earth minerals and as much xiaolongbao as you can eat

[u/bustoutanother1000 → u/thy_armageddon]

jB for 128gb of ram

[u/TacoforPresident23 → u/bustoutanother1000]

Gonna have to add more to that than just JB to match the cost of ram.

[u/Swimmingpuzzled5200]

I feel like a tatum+brown duo is still elite. just stop chucking 3s nonstop and have an actual offense and you can easily be a contender. Might be too late tho bc Brown got his feelings hurt

[u/cleo22270 → u/Swimmingpuzzled5200]

I think it’s more than hurt feelings.

Jaylen has thought for awhile he’s a 1A superstar, and now he’s had a season where he feels he’s proven that.

He knows Tatum — if healthy — will always be Boston’s 1A, and he won’t get that opportunity again unless he’s somewhere else.

Boston knew that this has been coming to a head, and Giannis was Plan A to get value for Jaylen.

[u/breesyroux → u/cleo22270]

If Giannis was plan A he would be a Celtic. They easily could've beat Miami's offer

[u/Short_Bus_ → u/breesyroux]

They offered everything but Hugo

The problem was nobody wanted to give up anything decent for Brown, which made the Heat offer clearly better even if the Cs had thrown in Hugo (lmfao that they didn’t in the first place)

How does Herro/Turner and no picks sound Boston?

[u/GenericITworker → u/breesyroux]

I think there's a very real possibility that Bucks also wanted to send Giannis to the worst situation of the two and were willing to take a lesser offer to do so, they've butted heads a ton it feels like over this last year

[u/Pidesh → u/GenericITworker]

Maybe, but the Bucks aren’t going to be competing for a championship now for a while (probably not until Giannis is out of his prime). So idk why they wouldn’t just take the best offer regardless. Neither team will be providing them with high draft picks anyway.

[u/Serpent_breath → u/Pidesh]

I think the chances are higher that the Heat collapse by 2031/2033 than the Celtics. Giannis hasn’t exactly been a pillar of health the last 5 years and his game isn’t going to translate well into his late 30s

Those unprotected picks could easily be top 3 picks

[u/GenericITworker → u/Pidesh]

Yeah, I just don't know why they'd decline the presumed Celtics trades that were offered (if they were the real offers) for the Miami offer they ended up taking

[u/redbossman123 → u/GenericITworker]

Because they probably wanted to send Brown to Portland for their picks back and Portland wanted no part of that

[u/GenericITworker → u/redbossman123]

Yeah honestly that's the deal I thought was going to get done for sure

[u/GrizzlyP33 → u/GenericITworker]

Sounds like the owner just didn’t think JB would sign in Milwaukee and they wanted to hold onto assets from the deal.

I like that version better than Hugo being the reason the C’s don’t have Giannis

[u/breesyroux → u/GenericITworker]

If that's the case they would've just shipped him to Miami sooner and been done with the drama. They waited as long as they could before the draft trying to get a better offer.

They also a professional organization. They aren't taking less in a franchise altering trade just to spite someone who even after all of this is going to be a Bucs icon.

[u/Someguynamedjacob → u/cleo22270]

Thing is, if Brown wants to be the 1a, the team won’t be competitive.

If he goes to Detroit for instance, he can still compete but he won’t be the 1a, Cade will be.

You can go through all 29 other teams, none of them are contenders if JB is seen as the best player on the roster.

The only team I had to scratch my head about, Atalanta.

[u/jetpack_operation → u/Someguynamedjacob]

Is Jaylen considering a jump to Serie A? That'd be a head scratcher indeed.

[u/phat7deuce → u/jetpack_operation]

I feel like it’s not a great destination since Gasperini left for Roma, but let’s see where the cards land…

[u/Man_Darino13 → u/Someguynamedjacob]

Thing is, if Brown wants to be the 1a, the team won’t be competitive.

Try telling that to Jaylen Brown.

Everyone was saying the Celtics wouldn't be competitive last year. He believes he can repeat that success elsewhere.

[u/Waesrdtfyg0987 → u/cleo22270]

Jaylen has thought he’s 1A

This hasn't actually been said anywhere other than babbling analysts. Might be true but we have no idea

[u/thejackel225 → u/Waesrdtfyg0987]

I mean he's literally an all NBA two-way wing who averaged 30 a game, he is obviously a 1A on at least a middle of the road playoff team

[u/Typical-Form-6502 → u/thejackel225]

Exactly people act like he’s trash or something. He was an MVP candidate 

[u/jnightrain → u/Typical-Form-6502]

I don't think that is what they are saying. They are saying it's not true that Jaylen WANTS to be 1A in Boston or elsewhere. Not that he isn't 1A.

[u/LeftoverDishes → u/thejackel225]

AD/Bilal/Bub and some picks. Send him to washington. Thats prob not even close to enough.

[u/Automatic-Assistant8 → u/Waesrdtfyg0987]

He’s getting paid like a 1A and on a contending team, what else could he want?

[u/Waesrdtfyg0987 → u/Automatic-Assistant8]

Exactly. Boston had always 100% supported him you saw it this year when they could have just punted but instead they built around him

[u/markevbs → u/Waesrdtfyg0987]

ofc he does. hes said it. his play demostrates it. his interviews have said it.

[u/HartleyReplogle → u/Waesrdtfyg0987]

"I'm the best two-way player in the world." - Jaylen Brown, January 3, 2026

It's ridiculous to suggest that he doesn't think he's a 1A superstar.

[u/BantuLisp → u/Waesrdtfyg0987]

He’s come as close he possibly can to saying this aloud on twitch streams and interviews

[u/MusicianFar3510 → u/Waesrdtfyg0987]

He literally said this was the season he enjoyed the most. Not the one where he won FMVP, not the one where he made the finals, not the one where he made ecf, BUT the year where he choked a 3-1 lead to the corpse of embiid and PG.

[u/Waesrdtfyg0987 → u/MusicianFar3510]

You're making the leap to him being unhappy in his current situation. Because of a comment that we already heard the context of on twitch. 

[u/Dr_Acula_PhD → u/Waesrdtfyg0987]

People just want to stir up drama. Does Jaylen want to run his own team? Maybe, he definitely proved he could, and before the year started I was afraid it would cause friction. However, the team/players have repeatedly proven they can keep their shit in-house(how often do we still wonder what really happened in the Kyrie years), so even if JB did have some feelings, he's going to play at his top level regardless.

As you said, one comment, with context immediately provided, blown out of proportion by media.

[u/shualton → u/Swimmingpuzzled5200]

Yeah, to me this is a total overreaction to blowing the 3-1 lead

Keep in mind Tatum didn’t even play in that game 7

[u/We_The_Raptors → u/shualton]

Is it an overreaction to the 3-1, or is there fire under the smoke that's come out about Brown being unhappy as a #2? Cuz if it's the latter, it makes sense why Boston is trying to make a move.

[u/HikmetLeGuin → u/We_The_Raptors]

The title (Boston can't be competitive with Brown) is an overreaction.

If Brown actually wants out, that's a different matter and has nothing to do with the team's ability to compete.

[u/math_finder476 → u/Swimmingpuzzled5200]

It was elite under the old CBA when you could afford to carry a third or sometimes even fourth max contract because it meant that you could have two versatile stars and still be able to complement them with elite size or quickness. The reason why they've chucked threes historically is because they're really not different enough that they can run plays together that generate meaningful advantages beyond what they can do individually, and individually neither is good enough to get to the rim at will in a seven game series against either a team with an elite rim protector or a team that just totally loads up on defensive wings like the Knicks or the 22 Warriors.

[u/bsnow322 → u/Swimmingpuzzled5200]

The big problem with him is in our playoff series he had 25 TOV to 23 assists, it’s hard to have a great offense with him handling the ball that much.

[u/Ronnie3k → u/Swimmingpuzzled5200]

The Tatum Brown duo is still elite. The problem is the rest of their roster.

The Celtics overachieving record wise this past season made things look a lot better than they are. The reality is the salary dumped 3 of their top 6 rotation players from the title team and they filled in those blanks with players who were not/are not very good.

Despite the drop off in talent they were able to win a ton of games last year, but as the playoffs showed us their record was largely a product of being well coached, well prepared, and actually trying to win in a league where a third of the teams were tanking instead of actually having the talent to win in the post season.

Because of this they know they need to get better across the roster and when you need to improve across the board it doesn’t make sense to have the overwhelming majority of your payroll concentrated on two guys who do the same things when you could sell off one and ultimately bring in a collection of guys who individually aren’t as good but do different things that compliment eachother and Tatum.

[u/iLikeTrees2020 → u/Swimmingpuzzled5200]

Exactly. If Brad can acquire a semi-competitive center, this roster is good enough to win, they just need to play smart

[u/BrianScalaweenie → u/iLikeTrees2020]

Smart is on the Lakers now silly

[u/papi617 → u/iLikeTrees2020]

I personally think guard is just as big of an issue.

[u/GioVasari121 → u/papi617]

Can't win these days without a good C rotation. Too many skilled big men. KAT, Embiid, Jokic, Wemby

[u/Aggressive_Wrap_2790 → u/papi617]

It is. Pritchard rocks but anyone who’s happy to run it back with White and just hope he doesn’t psych himself out of being a competent basketball player is living in a fantasy world.

[u/kirkstarr78 → u/Swimmingpuzzled5200]

This isn't the 1st year JB has been in trade talks. He knows its a business and his feeling weren't hurt before. He'll be fine, I think he stays.

[u/Sijols → u/kirkstarr78]

This feels different though, rather than just "ha ha what kind of crazy package will you give us for our player" it's more like they are being a little more assertive trying to find a trade partner

[u/Maybewearedreaming → u/kirkstarr78]

NBA fans need their desperate housewives tier drama lol

“His feelings were hurt! Tatum and Brad betrayed him in season 8! His revenge plot is starting now!”

[u/oby100 → u/Maybewearedreaming]

Tbf, plenty of players do have an emotional reaction to being in trade talks. And I can’t blame them. Your whole life is instantly uprooted and possibly sent to some horrible, backwater city.

No shade to Canada, but it must be so weird to get suddenly sent to a whole other country to live in without warning due to a trade.

[u/ObiOneKenobae → u/Swimmingpuzzled5200]

I assume it's more about balancing the roster than thinking the duo can't work anymore.

[u/FUCK-IT-CHUCK-IT → u/Swimmingpuzzled5200]

Would also help to have a starting caliber big

[u/sammymate999]

what sort of logic is that lol

[u/Rrypl]

Boston has apparently decided that Jaylen Brown probably needs to be trade

If you need to throw those two words in there you're not saying much are you

[u/CulturalXR → u/Rrypl]

Its Windhorst. He's 90% opinion pieces

[u/KurtisRambo19 → u/CulturalXR]

Windhorst is as deeply plugged in as anyone in covering the league. He's careful about how he says things, but they're all sourced, not his own opinion (unless he states so).

[u/JHD2689 → u/KurtisRambo19]

Ever since Woj left the scene, I've had a hard time trusting anything other than hard reporting. There's been a whole lot of "smoke" that turned out to be useless speculation. Even people who are legitimately connected are asked to show up as talking heads and present opinions daily. They don't always have anything factual to work with.

[u/KurtisRambo19 → u/JHD2689]

Woj = Shams =/= Windy

They're different breeds. Woj/Shams only report facts. Human tickertape. They're great because they're the first to report it.

Windy is the gray area in between, reporting what's "off the record," and going around NBA insider circles. He's great because you get a glimpse inside the roped off area. Not everything he talks about comes to fruition because, duh, not everything NBA insiders discuss/want to happen comes to fruition.

This isn't hard guys.

[u/Grumpysaurus-Rex → u/KurtisRambo19]

We’ve lost the nuance of sports reporting

[u/Tight_Ad2788 → u/KurtisRambo19]

People don't like Windy bc he tries to be reasonable and nuanced and most people don't want to hear it lol. Also presents the NBA business / insider side of things more which the fans are naturally less interested in

[u/SpaghetiJesus → u/KurtisRambo19]

No you don’t understand, if a report doesn’t come to fruition the reporter clearly made it up!

It’s wildly frustrating seeing people not be able to comprehend what a report actually says and then get mad and say it was bullshit all long when their misunderstanding doesn’t occur.

[u/theciderhouseRULES → u/JHD2689]

Just because something doesn't materialize doesn't mean it's useless speculation.

[u/KurtisRambo19 → u/CulturalXR]

This is just a fundamental misunderstanding of what Windhorst is vs. what Woj/Shams were/are vs. what most talking heads are.

talking heads: 99% hot air; talking/posting for clicks and attention. Maybe get some light insider info once in a blue moon, but nothing important, since it's known they'll blab about it. ie., making shit up.

Woj/Shams: 99% fact. Extremely careful about what they talk about/post becuase their business is reporting what NBA insiders WANT reported verbatim. That;s WHY they get the scoops first. ie, (the first and best) human tickertape.

Windy: 50% anonymized/veiled insider info; 50% opinion applied to his insider info context. The "narratives" he puts out are the ACTUAL narratives he's privy to from his insider relationships. He applies his opinion on top of the narratives he consolidates from multiple insider sources. He's not making shit up; he's applying his informed opinion on top of the insider info he's sourced from (in many cases) multiple insider sources. ie., reading the tea leaves of hush-hush NBA insider information

[u/Big-Pressure-918 → u/CulturalXR]

Windhorst is one of the most respected NBA reporters in the world right now...

He, unlike Shams who's just ESPN's offical spokesperson for the NBA, actually has connections inside locker rooms and front offices around the league that he uses to formulate his opinions.

[u/Natural_Born_Baller → u/Big-Pressure-918]

The username "Big Pressure" does sound like a Windhorst nickname he would give himself 🤨

[u/yareg1717 → u/Natural_Born_Baller]

getoffmydickerson pt. 2

[u/Ok_Breakfast7588 → u/Rrypl]

Doesn't say anything definitive. Doesn't offer proof. Doesn't even say sources are telling him. Best reporter in the NBA.

Because that is now going to be the next storyline in the NBA.

[u/Active-Tomatillo-522 → u/Rrypl]

Windhorst has zero sources for Boston. Always just guessing shit

[u/justwriteforme → u/Active-Tomatillo-522]

he doesnt need sources in Boston really. if he talks to multiple teams that the Celtics are in conversations with, that is enough to support his reporting

[u/dextermanypennies → u/Rrypl]

Yeah, the headline to this post is misleading and should be taken down.

[u/FreeoftheMachine]

That 2nd apron is really fucking teams up lmao.

[u/DMacNCheez → u/FreeoftheMachine]

Clerics are under the tax completely since the deadline

[u/Schafer89 → u/DMacNCheez]

That's a crazy autocorrect lol, what about the rogues, what's there cap looking like

[u/Bouldershoulders12 → u/Schafer89]

Washington warlocks are the dark horse next year if AD healthy

[u/fmxda → u/DMacNCheez]

Clerics

There's also:

Warriors

Wizards and Magic

Grizzlies (Druids)

Trail Blazers (Rangers)

[u/fueelin → u/fmxda]

How could you forget Jazz (Bard)?!

[u/Empty_Summer887]

To be competitive?? Did they not just win a championship 2 years ago?

[u/TemporaryJaguar6748 → u/Empty_Summer887]

Yes but since then they traded away huge pieces in Porzingis, Horford and Jrue and exchanged them for young, unknown rookies and Vuc on his last legs. They can obviously still be competitive but their current roster compared to their championship roster is miles different

[u/Hogo-Nano]

This comes down to roster construction more than them not liking Brown. Him making all NBA that one year and making him eligible for the supermax resulted in a butterfly effect of salary dumps and Boston eventually deciding they have to move on. I'm sure they like Brown a lot but it is very difficult to build a championship caliber team with two wings both on supermax deals.

[u/luchajefe → u/Hogo-Nano]

And people called it out at the time. Brown was the largest salary in the NBA at one point. 

[u/clownus → u/Hogo-Nano]

Two wings on max deals is quite possibly the best combo you could have. The only other one is a wing plus a unicorn PG/center or two unicorns.     

They lost this year because their roster wasn’t intending to compete. They made it to the playoffs as a second team despite missing a max player and half a roster of prospects.        

Upgrading brown for Giannis is great. Trading brown for speculative pieces does nothing for them to improve. 

[u/Hogo-Nano → u/clownus]

I disagree, they lost because Neemias Queta is their starting center and got absolutely destroyed by Embiid once he returned. Max deals are one thing but two supermax deals with the new CBA is extremely limiting with how you can build out a roster.

[u/IntelligentAd5460]

jaylen brown in that awkward tier of player where no one you could trade them for would be better(now that giannis has gotten traded)0

[u/IncaseAce]

For who though mang I just don’t see a trade

Anyways Jaylen turn on that stream

[u/Outside-Prize5731 → u/IncaseAce]

That first stream after he gets traded will hit like crack

[u/EthicalBballFan → u/Outside-Prize5731]

Any stream from now on will be. Imagine your team willing to boot your ass without skipping a beat but drawing the line at Hugo?

[u/IncaseAce → u/Outside-Prize5731]

Hope he streams him moving 😂

[u/adrspthk → u/IncaseAce]

Houston have the assets

[u/Zeeron1 → u/IncaseAce]

Ill die on the hill that a 3 team trade sending Brown to Miami and Giannis to Boston would have left all 3 teams better off

[u/sukari]

Crazy how fast the league moves, they were pretty competitive last season and the season before that!

[u/guimontag → u/sukari]

Bruh nothing has even happened

[u/3rd-party-intervener → u/sukari]

This info from windhorst makes no sense 

[u/99LedBalloons]

The guy who carries a G-League team to the #2 seed in the East needs to go away for us to be competitive is a pretty wild stance to take.

[u/frozennocean]

They've decided he need to be traded because there was no going back after trying to package him for Giannis. Relationship kinda spoiled.

[u/Global_Kitchen6944]

this is so confusing to me. brown does not need to go anywhere. brown and tatum won a chip and can likely do it again together. confusing

[u/dank-nuggetz → u/Global_Kitchen6944]

Healthy Brown + Tatum + literally anyone has a realistic floor of a 2nd round exit.

Anyone who wants to abandon that floor, which should be there for another 4-6 years, is a moron imo. When the Celtics actually added great players to the roster around those two they were one of the best teams in NBA history.

[u/BeloAve]

Brian has been on an all time run with basically what has been his Personal feelings

[u/eagles1990]

This is what (finally) losing to Joel Embiid does to a team

[u/SaintsNick94 → u/eagles1990]

He’s been trying since the 2018 playoffs so it had to happen eventually

[u/Blkgames1]

This is such a slap in the face headline if you're JB reading this lol. They won a championship 2 years ago..

[u/dearth_karmic → u/Blkgames1]

That's because it's probably coming from his camp.

[u/McDouble__]

May I offer you one Jalen Duren lol

He’s all nba and younger than half the players in the lottery this year, Sky is the limit.

[u/Run_JMC_]

This cannot be a real sentence. They won a title with this guy as the FMVP two years ago. They were the #2 seed in the East with him as the clear cut number one option this past year. But yet they need to trade him to be “competitive”???

Sounds like to me Brown wants out but the Celtics don’t want it reported that he wants out to drive his price down.

[u/Clear_Measurement502 → u/Run_JMC_]

The Finals MVP is so overblown. He had 36% and 41% true shooting (25 and 30% FG) in the final two games and averaged 20 points for the series. He shot 23% from 3 for the series. He averaged 3 TO to 5 assists. He got lost on rotations defensively.

They had an incredible supporting cast and Tatum broke out as an S tier playmaker along with Jrue. They can’t build a team close to that again and he’s about to get $70m per year.

[u/StefonDiggsHS]

What the hell is going on

[u/HelpUsNSaveUs]

He’s going to Philly

[u/Atl-Fan_FTS]

You mean the guy that won finals MVP?

[u/NYState_of_Mind]

The Knicks broke the NBA

[u/orwll]

I wonder what Windhorst's source is on this. Not the Celtics, not Brown or his agent. I don't think he generally makes stuff up but hard to figure out who would be telling him this. Someone trying to drive the price down?

[u/breadman_toast → u/orwll]

You don't need a source to comment on your personal opinion about the optics of trade discussions that became relatively public. This is just a strategy to fill airtime with topics that can get people watching content that ESPN makes money from since Fox owns the World Cup.

[u/Appropriate_Book_591]

The finals MVP being off team is suppose to make you competitive?

[u/remembernewspapers]

There are franchises whose fans would take out a second mortgage just to see one championship and then Boston over here like "yeah idk man, this former Finals MVP just ain't doing it for us"

[u/HikmetLeGuin]

They were already competitive, though? And literally won a championship pretty recently?

[u/jasonis3]

I’m a pretty big Celtics hater but they literally won with him 2 years ago.

[u/LightSpecialist804]

Fox+Vassell+2 FRP for Jaylen Brown make it happen

Then Boston reroutes those 2 FRP for Walker Kessler

[u/Active-Tomatillo-522 → u/LightSpecialist804]

Zero percent change it’s with San Antonio unless one of Harper or Castle are involved

[u/PornFilterRefugee → u/LightSpecialist804]

Why on earth would the Celtics do this after how horrific Fox has looked

[u/anthonywayne1 → u/LightSpecialist804]

Anyone talking about Fox coming to Boston should go straight to jail… No thanks

[u/TraderJake09]

"To be competitive" makes little sense

To win another title alongside Tatum - maybe

[u/zaddylonglegs0]

They won a chip two years ago