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Jaylen Brown trade rumors have continued to surface as the Boston Celtics continue to struggle in the playoffs. With the team gearing up to stave off elimination on Thursday night, it's no secret that Brown will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
If the team were to wind up losing and being eliminated, many have predicted that the dynamic duo of Brown and Jayson Tatum could be split up. Despite that, reports have emerged from Heavy Sports indicating that Brown is unlikely to part ways with the Celtics this offseason.
With how much the Boston Celtics could pay Brown, he won't be able to earn nearly as much money if he wound up going to a rival team. An anonymous Eastern Conference GM spoke about Brown's looming free agency decision, as quoted by Sean Deveney:
“Well, he would be crazy to pass on what Boston can give him. They will have to go all in and he is going to have to take it. You can’t turn down what is going to wind up being $60 million a year.
"Maybe he’s happy in Boston, maybe not, but if you’re Jaylen Brown and you have the opportunity to be the highest-paid player in the league, you’re damn right you take it.”
With their season on the line, Jaylen Brown and the Celtics could wind up heading into the offseason sooner rather than later. To put it simply, the stakes couldn't be higher. After coming up short in the NBA Finals last year, anything short of another finals appearance would be considered a regression.
Jaylen Brown trade rumors and the Celtics' recent performances
As many have pointed out, the Celtics have underperformed this postseason. In the first round, they went six games with a play-in tournament Atlanta Hawks team. Currently, they find themselves down 3-2 to the Philadelphia 76ers, in a series where they have gone through rough patches.
Notably, Jayson Tatum has gone through stretches where he finds himself scoreless in the first half, going on droughts as the team struggles. With a looming free agency decision, how this season plays out for the Celtics could determine whether or not these Jaylen Brown trade rumors become reality.
(Suggested Reading: Throwback reaction to Jaylen Brown trade rumors)
Jaylen Brown recently spoke to media members about their play, as quoted by Yahoo Sports:
"I think we've just got to take more pride in ourselves. That's it. We wanted to come out and play to the best of our ability, and that's what we did. Hostile environment. But it should be fun. We should all be excited to embrace that challenge."
As Doc Rivers has been quick to point out, however, the Celtics have a pretty good track record when down 3-2 in the playoffs. Given that, he doesn't want his team to get too comfortable.
Game 6 tips off on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. CT on ESPN.
(Suggested Reading: How many 3-1 leads have been blown in the NBA Playoffs?)
