The Boston Celtics wasted no time in making significant changes to their roster for the upcoming season. Entering the offseason, the Celtics desperately need to make changes in order to avoid another year of being under the second apron regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The Celtics knew this, which is why they wasted no time in trading away not one but two of their key players from the past two seasons: Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday. They are now with new teams, and while the Celtics trimmed a lot of the fat, there are rumors that they may not be done.
There is a chance the Celtics could make another move to shed salary. One of the rumored names they could move off of is their 2024 NBA Finals MVP, Jaylen Brown. Brown has been rumored to get traded before the 2025-26 season. The likelihood of that happening as things stand is low.
Brad Botkin of CBS Sports thinks the same.
Botkin predicts that the Celtics will retain Brown, and he will wear the green and white in the upcoming season.
"Honestly, the Celtics could use a gap year. They've been in conference finals three of the last four years and the Finals two of the last four. Tatum and White both payed in the Olympics. This has been a long, difficult run with a lot of hard postseason miles on everyone's bodies. Let these Boston guys breathe for a season and then pick it back up with Tatum in 2026-27, when he and Brown will both still be south of 30. That's the measured play, and I'm confident Boston will go that route."
The Celtics could receive a substantial return for Brown. He's coming off a solid season where he made yet another All-Star Game and was two games shy of possibly making an All-NBA Team and/or an All-Defensive Team.
Brown has all the talent in the world. With Jayson Tatum out for most, if not all of the 2025-26 season, all eyes will be on Brown and what he could do to keep the Celtics competitive this upcoming season.
The 28-year-old will likely enter his 10th season with the team, looking to make some noise in a wide open Eastern Conference.
