![The Spurs tried several times to trade for Jaylen Brown. [Image credit: Instagram/@fchwpo]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2019/9/10/660x290/b_502x220x82/the-spurs-tried-several-times-to-trade-for-jaylen-brown-image-credit-instagramfchwpo_2321953.jpg "The Spurs tried several times to trade for Jaylen Brown. [Image credit: Instagram/@fchwpo]")
Jaylen Brown has grown into an exciting young player for the Boston Celtics over the last three years. The former No.3 overall pick has been a valuable cog for Team USA at the FIBA World Cup in China, averaging 8.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game.
Barring an injury, it’s safe to say that Brown is poised for a breakout year next season. With Kyrie Irving and Al Horford switching teams this summer, the Celtics would need someone to fill in the void left by their leading scorers from last season, and the 22-year-old Brown is more than ready to take on the next challenge.
But before he enters his fourth NBA season, Brown will first figure out his future with the Celtics. As a lottery pick of the 2016 NBA Draft, he’s eligible for a rookie scale contract extension that would pay him around $20 million per year.
Danny Ainge, the Celtics’ top decision-maker in the last two decades, has until the eve of the 2019-20 NBA season to decide whether to lock up Brown now or take the riskier route by letting him test the market as an unrestricted free-agent in 2020.
Of course, there’s always the idea of a potential trade. Right now, a number of NBA GMs are salivating at the mere thought of acquiring a rising star like Brown. It’s all noise at this point, yet crazier trades happened over the past months, some of which stemmed from contractual disputes.
So what are the chances of Brown getting traded? At this moment, it’s 50-50. The Celtics are a whisker below the luxury tax threshold, and that financial woes will only get worse once Jayson Tatum, another promising youngster, becomes extension-eligible next summer.
Ainge must decide now if Brown is worth keeping for, because if he thinks he’s not, a fringe playoff contender like the San Antonio Spurs, would embrace the opportunity of trading for Brown.
World Cup Bonding
We’ve seen new friendship and partnership formed after an Olympic or FIBA World Cup experience. In Brown’s case, the experience of playing under coach Pop will give him the idea what it’s like playing for a title-winning coach. According to a Team USA insider, Brown is one of Popovich’s favorites on the roster because of his no-nonsense demeanor and professionalism on and off the court. For any Celtics fan, it’s always scary to think where this relationship would end.
Youth Movement
The Spurs are entering a bridge year, weighing down if it’s still fine to compete with a middle-of-the-pack roster or it’s about time to usher in a youth movement in the organization. San Antonio has accumulated several high-upside prospects like Dejounte Murray, Derrick White and Lonnie Walker, but adding Brown to the mix would officially pave the way for a new chapter in Spurs’ lore.
