While most of you were asleep, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke news that the Celtics have emerged as a contender in the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. In a story posted at 2:28 AM, Woj wrote “The Celtics appear no closer to acquiring Durant than others in discussions with the Nets, but Boston's ability to include All-Star forward Jaylen Brown as a centerpiece in offers does help make the team formidable in its pursuit, sources said.”
Then his competition in the news-breaking sphere Shams Charania posted an early-morning story stating “The Celtics offered Brown, guard Derrick White and a draft pick to the Nets for Durant, sources said. The proposal was rejected, and Brooklyn has asked Boston — in any proposal — to include Brown, Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, draft picks and potentially one more rotation player, those sources added. Currently, the Celtics are less inclined to include Smart along with multiple other player or pick assets, but the franchise is mulling over next steps on how to approach discussions.”
On the surface, everyone is waking up to news that Boston has offered Brown to the Nets in a deal.
But have they?
It’s hard to tell with these rumors now, so let’s explore the possibilities.
Possibility 1: It’s real
I’ve been vocal about keeping this core together because I think it can improve and take the next step to win a championship now while remaining in the mix down the road. I think Durant gives you a wider window in the short term, but closes it a lot sooner.
But maybe the Celtics believe that in the NBA, you make the run for the title right now and just worry about later, later.
If they truly do want to go for Durant, then it would take Brown to get it done. In the proposal Charania laid out, it would seem the Celtics regard Brown very highly, and would only be willing to add one other player to make the salaries work and a pick.
Of course, the Nets would counter that and Boston would have to retreat to consider the counteroffer.
John’s Take: I don’t buy that this is an actual negotiation between Brooklyn and Boston. The offer of Brown, White, and a pick is a bare-minimum kind of offer. “Here are salaries that match and a first rounder” isn’t the type of haul Brooklyn would expect, and the counter involves too much salary and too many players leaving Boston for the trade to make any sense.
The key phrasing in both stories is that nothing is imminent, and that “there are no deals believed to have traction for Durant,” according to Wojnarowski.
This isn’t how negotiations go between two teams. It’s possible Nets GM Sean Marks is trying to plant bombs to get Boston to make a more serious offer, but considering how Brad Stevens has operated over his tenure, this doesn’t feel like an actual pursuit by the Celtics.
Possibility 2: It’s fake
We can probably assume Stevens and Marks have spoken. Every team in the league would want to see what the cost is for Durant, and because of the salary matching requirements, a Brown/White package would almost certainly be a starting point.
It’s possible that, in an effort to spur talks with someone else, the Net are blowing up an exploratory phone call to make it seem like Boston is involved. Things have gotten too quiet, and a desperate Marks has taken to spreading falsehoods to stir the pot.
John’s Take: I doubt we’ve reached this point as well. I don’t think there are outright lies. I think there's a middle ground here.
Possibility 3: The murky middle where half-truths and lies of omission live
This is what I think really happened.
I think Stevens and Marks have spoken, and Stevens tossed out a couple of names but it was more of a half-hearted thing. It was more like one of those “Oh you’re asking $10,000 for that car? I only have $2,000 in my pocket” kind of conversations just to float out what they might be willing to do.
The Nets, obviously, want the world for Durant. Marks probably told Stevens that he wants everyone not named Jayson Tatum in the deal and Stevens said he needed to think about that. This kind of conversation could be spun into an “offer,” a “rejection” and a counter offer, and Boston “mulling over next steps on how to approach discussions.”
Is it entirely true? No. Is it entirely false? No. Is it aimed at getting a trade done with the Celtics?
Almost certainly not.
Boston is not going to gut their Finals team in August to give the Nets everything they want. It’s one thing to say Brogdon can replace White and Durant replaces Brown and they then go on their merry way, using one of their remaining TPEs to find some other bench help. It’s another entirely to ask Boston to go the Tatum/Durant/bunch of minimum contract guys route and hope for the best.
The most likely scenario is that Marks’ phone has been too quiet for too long and his preferred trade partners like Toronto and New Orleans have dug in their heels, so Marks called up his news-breaking buddies and planted the story based on murky details.
I don’t know where Marks is right now, but I’m willing to bet the New Zealand native took advantage of being out in Las Vegas for summer league to maybe hit a vacation spot or even go home for a bit. A 2:30 AM leak for us is an early-evening conversation for someone who happens to be in a place like New Zealand or Australia.
The leak does nothing for Boston besides pissing off Brown, so I doubt anyone on the Boston side had anything to do with it. They just pulled the Brogdon deal off without a peep, so we know they can keep things quiet if they want.
But Brooklyn needs competition for Durant to shake the assets it wants free from another team. Whether it’s Scottie Barnes from Toronto or Brandon Ingram from New Orleans, those teams need to believe that Boston is somewhat serious about a Durant pursuit in order to loosen up their own purse strings.
It’s hard to know the reality of what’s going on without being in the middle of it, but this whole thing smells incredibly like a Nets leak that twists some actual events into something much bigger in order to get talks with other teams started again. It probably means the Celtics have some damage control to do with Brown, but I don’t think Boston enters next season with Durant on the roster.