The Celtics are nowhere close to being in a rebuilding mode, which is the same narrative for a lot of teams on this list. This is where the Chicago Bulls could jump into the mix to help a playoff contender get better immediately and take one of their younger potential stars that could cost them more down the road off their hands now.
In the case of the Celtics, a potential trade candidate for the coming season is the former Cal Golden Bears ultra-athletic wing Jaylen Brown. The 6-foot-7 shooting guard/small forward the first round pick (third overall) of the Celtics back in the 2016 NBA Draft. He’s been pretty up and down since he was taken after one season with the Cal basketball program.
The Celtics and Brown can’t seem to agree on a deal that works well for both sides. Brown is probably looking in the range of a max contract, but there are a lot of teams that wouldn’t be willing to give him that kind of money. But where the bargaining power emerges for Brown is how weak the 2020 free agent class is.
There’s only so many pieces that the Celtics can afford to re-sign now. They already made the move to hand out a max contract to the former Charlotte Hornets All-NBA point guard Kemba Walker during the offseason. There might not be any room for Brown when it’s all said and done next year.