Amid all of the furor related to the lingering trade request of Brooklyn Nets star swingman Kevin Durant that has roped in star Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, we are increasingly getting rumbles that all this may be much ado about nothing. The short version is that there had initially been concern that the reason Brown’s name came up in trade talks with the Nets at all is that he might be seen as a potential flight risk at the end of his current contract in the offseason after next.
But later reporting has thrown cold water on that notion, first with whispers that the situation was being miscast by Brooklyn for their own ends, and then that Brown himself is well aware of how things truly stand between him and Boston. Heavy’s Steve Bulpett has now added to that perspective, with an unnamed league exec suggesting there’s little reason to fret.
“I think Jaylen IS long-term,” said Bulpett’s source. “If they want him long-term and they’re going to pay him the contract he deserves, I think he’s all-in on Boston.”
“From everything I’ve been told, Jaylen’s a loyal guy,” they added. “I know frustration can happen when things aren’t going well, and I think we saw some of that earlier in this past season.”
“But when you take a step back and look at things, I think he wants to be there. And any problems that could ever happen with that relationship would probably have to come from him getting the idea that they’re not into him. And right now I don’t see that from the Celtics. I think they know what they have in Jaylen — now and for the future — and they want to keep that going.”
“But, like I said, it’s Kevin (expletive) Durant, and … Brooklyn is going to want to talk about Jaylen,” offered the anonymous executive.
“Even if stuff about trade talks wasn’t getting leaked and reported, anyone with a brain would know that Jaylen’s name is going to come up at some point if they’re talking to Boston,” they suggested.
And thus the likely (but far from certain) impetus behind a certain tweet from Brown referencing the shaking of heads.
Even if one is on outstanding terms with their employer, constantly hearing about the possibility of being traded is eventually going to get one sick of seeing it in print…again.
Then again, this could all be public relations spin and for all we know things between the Celtics and Brown are actually quite dire.
But given what we are seeing and hearing, we are inclined to believe a team that has otherwise looked like a contender focused on finishing an already powerful roster as having little interest in trading Brown for Durant.
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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire