7 potential Jaylen Brown trade packages (and a final ranking)

As soon as the Boston Celtics lost out on Giannis Antetokounmpo, they were thrown into an awkward position. Jaylen Brown was very publicly thrown into the trade world, and now, it feels as though there's no going back.

Rumors have come from every corner of the saga. Brown wants to stay in Boston. Brown wants to leave. The Celtics are looking for a hefty package. The Celtics would be open to bringing him back.

But the one side of the story that has seemingly never been reported? The Celtics aren't shopping Brown.

At this point, it's painfully clear that Boston is doing just that. Brown is, at the very least, available in trade talks. And by now, it feels as though a deal is inevitable.

On Sunday morning, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype revealed six teams interested in a Brown trade: The Portland Trail Blazers, the Toronto Raptors, the LA Clippers, the Brooklyn Nets, the Atlanta Hawks, and the Denver Nuggets.

Let's walk through what a deal could look like with each of those six teams. (Also note that someone like Sam Hauser or Jordan Walsh could easily be thrown into one of these trades. I'm just focused on the return package of it all, though.)

**Keep in mind, the hardest part of all of this is identifying how many draft picks teams would be willing to give up. So in most of these deals, you could give or take a first.**

Portland Trail Blazers

By all accounts, it seems as though the Portland Trail Blazers are the leaders in the Brown clubhouse. Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported as much on Friday night.

Brian Robb of MassLive noted that it's unlikely Donovan Clingan would be in a deal, as Portland values him highly. Toumani Camara is another name the Blazers would like to keep out of trade conversations, per Robb.

This is what I believe a realistic deal with the Blazers would look like:

Celtics receive: Shaedon Sharpe, Scoot Henderson, Jerami Grant, 2028 first (swap with MIL), 2028 first (via ORL), 2029 first (swap with MIL), 2029 first (via BOS)

Blazers receive: Jaylen Brown

In this deal, the Celtics would get the reported four first-round picks they want, and the Blazers wouldn't have to cough up any of their own first-rounders.

The Blazers would also get to keep Clingan and Camara -- both of whom the Celtics should target.

Portland radio host Danny Marang recently put it out there that he has heard that the Blazers are likely to keep Deni Avdija, Clingan, and Camara out of trade talks for Brown. However, he did also note that "any/all draft capital" could potentially be included.

This deal would give the Celtics an intriguing wing scorer on a solid contract (Shaedon Sharpe), a fun project piece at point guard (Scoot Henderson), and a role player who could also act as a matching salary in another trade (Jerami Grant).

It's not perfect, but at this point, it feels like most trades won't be.

Toronto Raptors

Led by Scottie Barnes, the Raptors clearly want to win. They have found themselves in the mix of Kawhi Leonard rumors, too. It's obvious they want an upgrade.

The tricky part about a potential Toronto trade is that the salary coming back may not be ideal. Brandon Ingram will make $40 million next year, Jakob Poeltl will make $19.5 million (and it only goes up for two more seasons after that), and Immanuel Quickley will make $32.5 million for the next three years.

Here's my prediction for a realistic Raptors deal:

Celtics receive: RJ Barrett, Jakob Poeltl, Jamal Shead, 2027 first, 2030 first, 2028 first (swap), 2031 first (swap)

Raptors receive: Jaylen Brown

Taking on the Poeltl contract would be tough, but that's why the Celtics could probably push for Jamal Shead's inclusion, as well as additional draft compensation.

The real prize in a Raptors deal would be Collin Murray-Boyles. It would be the equivalent of trying to pry Clingan away from the Blazers, though Murray-Boyles may be a bit more gettable.

In an ideal world, he would be thrown into the mix instead of (or on top of) Shead.

Again, though, the brutal reality with a Toronto deal would be the financially necessary inclusion of one of Poeltl, Quickley, or Ingram's contracts.

LA Clippers

This is, in my opinion, by far the least likely deal of the six teams Scotto mentioned.

The only legitimate pathway to get a deal done would be to accept a Brown-for-Leonard swap. LA barely has any draft picks to give up.

It would probably look something like this:

Celtics receive: Kawhi Leonard, 2031 first, 2033 first

Clippers receive: Jaylen Brown

At that point, the Celtics should just find a team with more picks and better draft capital. Leonard is 34 years old. If Boston is going to trade Brown, it needs to think about sustainability at least a little bit.

Brooklyn Nets

This is quietly one of the more intriguing teams that could get involved, primarily because of how many draft picks the Nets have.

Brooklyn owns a ton of New York Knicks picks, as well as a Nuggets pick in 2032. Plus, Michael Porter Jr. had an All-Star case last year, and he's on an expiring contract.

Here's an outline of a potential trade:

Celtics receive: Michael Porter Jr., Day'Ron Sharpe, 2027 first (via NYK), 2029 first (via NYK), 2031 first (via NYK), 2032 first (via DEN)

Nets receive: Jaylen Brown

That may be too many draft picks for the Nets' liking, but it's a framework for the type of value Boston could extract in a deal.

By the time 2029 rolls around, who knows what the Knicks will look like? Jalen Brunson will be 32 by then. And by 2031, he'll be 34. There's no guarantee New York will still be roaming atop the East. The same goes for a 37-year-old Nikola Jokic in 2032.

This would be a bet on the future and a chance to add a ton of future trade ammo. Plus, Porter and Day'Ron Sharpe would be valuable rotation pieces.

Atlanta Hawks

It feels like the Hawks have been embedded in the Brown trade sweepstakes since the dawn of time.

First, they were going to be a third team in an Antetokounmpo deal. Now, they could look to add Brown straight up.

The problem is, the Hawks probably wouldn't want to blow up their core too much. They want to pair Brown with their most important players, not trade their most important players for Brown.

With that in mind, here's what I think a deal would look like:

Celtics recieve: Dyson Daniels, Corey Kispert, Zaccharie Risacher, 2027 first (least favorable of MIL and NOP), 2030 first, 2032 first

Hawks receive: Jaylen Brown

Obviously, the Celtics would probably push for the inclusion of Onyeka Okongwu. Maybe even Nickeil Alexander-Walker. But again, the Hawks don't want to blow it up. They want to add.

Because of that, this package isn't all that enticing. The 2027 first could be decent, but otherwise, the draft capital would be a bet against Atlanta's future.

Dyson Daniels is an intriguing piece as a defender, but Kispert is nothing more than a throw-in, and Risacher hasn't shown much promise yet.

Denver Nuggets

At first glance, Jamal Murray would be an interesting name. However, according to that same article from Robb, Boston isn't really interested. And because of that, it isn't particularly interested in Denver as a trade destination.

"Boston isn’t expected to have interest in Jamal Murray due to his sizable contract," Robb wrote. "Without other assets to sweeten the pot, it’s easy to see why Boston would look elsewhere.

Without Murray in the deal, this is what a trade would probably look like:

Celtics receive: Aaron Gordon, Cameron Johnson, DaRon Holmes II, 2031 first (swap), 2033 first (swap), 2033 second

Nuggets receive: Jaylen Brown

The other problem with the Nuggets is that almost all of their draft capital is tied up in past trades. As a result, they don't have much to offer on that front.

As Robb noted, it's easy to see why a deal with the Nuggets seems unlikely.

Charlotte Hornets

What's this? A secret seventh option?

The timing of the Charlotte Hornets' Miles Bridges trade is a bit suspicious. What if the Celtics didn't want Bridges back in a deal? What if the Hornets were going to move around some more to make room for a Brown trade?

They were mentioned as a potential suitor at times in the past week, and even though it seems unlikely, the Celtics could -- in theory -- rope a Brown deal into the ongoing LaMelo Ball trade. Though, it would also have to be combined with the Bridges trade.

It's confusing, and it would take a lot of tweaking, but there's the framework of a potential trade:

Celtics receive: Naz Reid, Grayson Allen, Sion James, 2027 first (via DAL, protected 1-2), 2028 first, 2031 first (swap), 2033 first (swap)

Hornets receive: Jaylen Brown

It had been reported that the Hornets plan on keeping Naz Reid, but maybe that was a ploy.

This deal would give the Celtics a new starting center, a couple of decent bench pieces, and some solid draft capital, too.

My rankings

All of these are hypothetical trades. The final outcome of this saga could be a deal that looks nothing like the ones I concocted. But in my opinion, those frameworks are fairly realistic. With that in mind, here are all seven return packages ranked in order of how ideal I think they would be for the Celtics:

1. Trail Blazers

It's the best blend of youth, talent, and future draft capital.

2. Nets

Adding Porter and Sharpe would be solid, and the future draft picks would be very tempting.

3. Raptors

If Murray-Boyles were in the deal, this may be my No. 1. But without him, it lands here. Although, I do love Shead.

4. Hornets

I think Reid would fit perfectly in Boston, and Sion James is a nice piece, too. That Dallas pick is also interesting.

5. Hawks

Unless the Celtics are getting Okongwu, this one isn't super interesting to me.

6. Clippers

Leonard is fine, but this deal is too short-sighted, in my opinion.

7. Nuggets

There's just not much here.