Asked about trading Jaylen Brown for James Harden, Danny Ainge reportedly said, ‘Are you kidding me?’

https://us.yahoo.com/sports/asked-trading-jaylen-brown-james-162451419.html



Asked about trading Jaylen Brown for James Harden, Danny Ainge reportedly said, ‘Are you kidding me?’



Justin Quinn
Sun, October 24, 2021, 12:24 PM



If former Boston Celtics center and current analyst Kendrick Perkins is correct in his recalling of how a certain conversation of his with the last President of Basketball Operations of the Celtics went, rumors of Boston All-Star forward Jaylen Brown being part of trade talks with the Houston Rockets were perhaps a bit less serious than some fans might have thought.


The champion big man recently related he’d spoken with then-team president Danny Ainge about a potential Brown-for-Harden swap last season when the possibility of such a move was still in the cards ahead of his eventual trade to the Brooklyn Nets.

“I remember last year around this time when teams were calling about James Harden and Houston actually wanted Jaylen Brown,” Perkins said on a recent episode of NBC Sports Boston’s “Celtics Pregame Live” show (h/t NBC’s Justin Leger).


“I was on the phone with Danny Ainge for an hour, and I remember how our conversation went,” said Perkins.

“He was like, ‘Hey, Perk, would you trade Jaylen Brown for James Harden?’ And I was like, ‘Danny, you know how I feel about Jaylen Brown, but I would trade him for James Harden.’ He was like, ‘ Are you kidding me? He’s not going anywhere.”

“He’s not even 25 and he keeps getting better,'” reportedly added Ainge.


And while he might have had a bit of an off night against the Toronto Raptors, his career-high 46 points in the season opener to the New York Knicks is a solid reminder of what Ainge was alluding to.

“Jaylen Brown is a true professional, he works hard, and people say he’s under-appreciated, but I would say people appreciate him now,” related Perk.

It’s easy to wonder what might have been, but given there are 29 teams in the league that would happily offer up hefty trade packages to get Brown on their roster, we’re inclined to agree,


Bob
MY NOTE: What's amusing about this is that Danny asked Perk what he thought about that trade, drew him out, when Danny was already firm on what his own position was, period. Never play poker with Danny Ainge.


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Assuming this is accurate and I have no reason to doubt it, many fans who also see JB is a keeper were 100% correct in their thinking. Little by little Celtics fans no longer look at the Jays and say well I would keep Jayson in that situation but I can see moving Jaylen.

In the time that Jaylen has been on the Celtics, he has grown in talent every year. Who really knows what his ceiling is? I have always been a strong proponent of keeping him right here. Who knows, he may be the better all around "J" ????

With the new rule changes that reduce offensive players seeking contact to get fouls, Harden is going to be a much less efficient player - Fritos were a huge part of his game.

jumping into defenders was his forte, plus flopping on the floor. I like Steph Curry, but he is going to have to learn to stop throwing his leg out everytime he shoots. Tatum too. A whole different world for shooters who get to the line 15 - 20 or more times a game

I may be wrong, but I have the idea that Brown is more intense than Tatum, and just as valuable in his own way. He takes higher percentage shots and hasn't been caught jawing at refs instead of getting back on defense since Marcus Morris shoved him in a game at Miami that I attended. I think , btw, that Morris was an underappreciated Celtic He lent a degree of toughness that I believe we have been lacking since he left He wasn't afraid of the big moment either.

I did not paticularly like Morris.  I thought he was a negative on this team, a bully and had too many technical fouls that hurt the team.