Over the weekend, there was a rumor that the Hawks attempted to pry Jaylen Brown away from the Celtics with a package surrounding John Collins. It doesn’t look like those talks got anywhere, though, as recent reports suggest that Boston would not even consider trading Brown unless Atlanta’s package included Trae Young and De’Andre Hunter.
Though the Hawks’ demands for Collins have been similar to Orlando’s Gordon price tag, Atlanta’s initial response to Boston’s pursuit of the 23-year-old forward was to build a larger deal around Jaylen Brown, league sources tell The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner. Since the 24-year-old All-Star plays the most valuable position in the game and just started a below market four-year deal, that was not going anywhere unless Atlanta was looking to include Trae Young and DeAndre Hunter, their two main building blocks.
Adding Jaylen Brown to the Hawks lineup for John Collins and other assets sounded awesome, but it was also extremely unrealistic. As I mentioned yesterday, those conversations likely got nowhere, and once the Celtics countered, I imagine they all but stopped. Brown and Young aren’t going anywhere. They are both key pieces of their respective franchises — now and in the future.
That doesn’t mean a trade between the Celtics and Hawks cannot be worked out. Boston remains interested in Collins, and Marcus Smart could fit perfectly next to Trae Young. However, I still think it will take a lot of work for two contending teams in the same conference to reach a deal before March 25th’s trade deadline.
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Photographer:Â Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire
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