The Boston Celtics have been incredibly busy this offseason trying to shed salary and prepare for a season without Jayson Tatum as he recovers from an Achilles tear in the playoffs. They already dealt Jrue Holiday to the Portland Trail Blazers for a package centered around Anfernee Simons, and traded Kristaps Porzingis to the Atlanta Hawks. Both of those moves ensure that Boston is below the second tax apron and the limitations that comes with surpassing it. But that doesn’t mean the Celtics are done making moves.
There are reports that other teams are interested in trying to pry Jaylen Brown and Derick White from the Celtics, though Boston’s assistant general manager Mike Zarren recently shut down the possibility of that happening.
“Those two guys are really, really great NBA players, and there hasn’t been anything close to serious about trading them,” Zarren said Friday in a post-draft interview. “I’m not sure where all this reporting came from, but those guys are key parts of our team, and we’re lucky to have them here.”
However, The Stein Line’s Jake Fischer reported that the Celtics informed one team that if they were to part with White, they would ask for a package similar to what the Brooklyn Nets got for trading Mikal Bridges to the New York Knicks. The Nets got four unprotected first-round picks, a pick swap in 2028 and a first and second-round pick in the 2025 draft. So basically, if any team wants to acquire White, it’s going to come at a premium price. That’s not surprising, especially given what the Memphis Grizzlies just got for trading Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic, which also included four first-round picks and a future pick swap.
That price tag will deter a ton of teams, but if a team does offer the Celtics four first-round picks, they’d have to seriously consider it. Let’s say the Golden State Warriors come calling with a sign-and-trade deal that would send Jonathan Kuminga and four future first-round picks to Boston in exchange for White. That may be an offer the Celtics just can’t turn down, even if it means parting ways with a player who was instrumental in Boston winning a title in 2024.
Zarren may downplay the Celtics looking to trade those guys, but that doesn’t mean teams will stop calling them trying to offer a haul to get someone like White or Brown.
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