future with the franchise. However, it also appears as if the Celtics are trying to find every avenue

possible to cut down their potential financial obligations to Brown.

Although frugal franchises are not rare in the NBA, it frankly doesn’t often take months for organizations

to sign player to max contract extensions. In fact, those agreements are often reached shortly after a

player becomes eligible for one, bringing an ugly truth about Brown and the Celtics into sharp relief.

Ultimately, if Boston really is having qualms about paying Brown the full max, Atlanta has at least a

sliver of a realistic chance to take him off their hands.

Neither he nor Siakam or exactly the greatest ball-movers and would be play-finishers more than

playmakers. Nonetheless, Siakam is on the final year of his contract and making no promises about re-

signing with the team that trades for him. A player that would likely demand a max contract in free

agency anyways, paying that amount to a younger and more productive player (and one that has roots in

the Atlanta area) is simply a wiser decision.

The real question is what it would take to complete a sign-and-trade that brings Brown to the Hawks.

1 trade Hawks still must target…

In trading for Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, every player except face of the franchise Trae Young

would likely be on the table.

The options

As the Celtics have a pair of B-grade guards in Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon available, they may

opt to focus on building their frontcourt. Especially with only Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis

guaranteed to have starting roles. However, whether it’s a starting wing, a starting guard, or a starting

big man, the Celtics will require at least one starter in return.

That player may not be Hawks center Clint Capela, given the redundancy in skillsets between he and

Celtics center Robert Williams III. Yet, due to the latter’s injury history, Boston may actually want

another shot-blocker and rim-runner on the roster.

Hawks forwards De’Andre Hunter and Saddiq Bey are a couple of starting-level frontcourt pieces.

However, Boston will have to believe that they can make a greater impact than Williams or Al Horford,

regardless of how their contributions measure up to Brown’s.

Ultimately, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray may be their most talented trade chip. Yet, Atlanta just

signed Murray to a contract extension.

The trade

The best sign-and-trade between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics could see Atlanta send forward

De’Andre Hunter, forward Saddiq Bey and guard Kobe Bufkin to Boston in exchange for wing Jaylen

Brown (and guard Payton Pritchard, if needed for salary matching).

Hunter, the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, averaged a career-high regular season scoring

average of 15.4 points per game last season. More importantly, he notched a career-high postseason

scoring average of 21.2 points per game in the 2022 NBA Playoffs. While Brown is certainly a more

formidable scorer, Hunter scores at an impressive rate when he’s aggressive.

Bey is likely a player that the Hawks would rather keep after acquiring him from the Detroit Pistons last

February. However, between Hunter and Bey, the Celtics will have made up for what Brown brings from

a production standpoint. Bey averaged 13.8 points per game in 2022-23 but has had at least one 30-

point game every season, including a career-high 51-point outing in 2021-22.

Bufkin, who the Hawks selected with the 15th overall pick in 2023 NBA Draft, will bolster a Celtics

backcourt that will be feeling the effects of Marcus Smart’s absence. Though Bufkin is far from refined,

he offers a blend of playmaking, scoring upside and defensive potential that Boston lacks in their second

unit backcourt otherwise.