Would trading away Jaylen Brown even be worth it for the Boston Celtics?
Would trading away Jaylen Brown even be worth it for the Boston Celtics?
Would trading away Jaylen Brown even be worth it for the Boston Celtics, given how hard it would be to replace what he does when the Celtics look to return to contention status? Boston is set to try to get cheaper for the coming 2025-26 NBA season while star Celtics forward Jayson Tatum is out recovering from a torn Achilles, but threading that particular needle without sacrificing future capabilities will be a tough row to hoe for the team's front office.
Is there a trade out there that can bring back enough in the present to cover everything Boston needs it to do that is not so unrealistic as to not be worth thinking about?
The host of the CLNS Media "You Got Boston" podcast, Noa Dalzell, linked up with NBA cap expert Keith Smith of Spotrac fame. Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear what they had to say about the wisdom of trading away Jaylen Brown.
If you enjoy this pod, check out the "How Bout Them Celtics," "First to the Floor," and the many other New England sports podcasts available on the CLNS Media network: https://ytubl.ink/3Ffk
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
24 minutes ago
- USA Today
Boston Celtics jersey history No. 21 - Bill Sharman (1951-61)
Boston Celtics jersey history No. 21 - Bill Sharman (1951-61) The Boston Celtics have had players suiting up in a total of 68 different jersey numbers (and have three others not part of any numerical series) since their founding at the dawn of the Basketball Association of America (BAA -- the league that would become today's NBA), worn by well over 500 players in the course of Celtics history. To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Celtics Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. With 25 of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Celtics to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover. And for today's article, we will continue with the fifth of nine people to wear the No. 21, Hall of Fame Boston guard alum Bill Sharman. After ending his college career at USC, Sharman was picked up with the 17th overall selection of the 1950 NBA draft by the (defunct) Washington Capitols. The Abilene, Texas native would play the first season of his pro career with the Caps, coming to an end when he was dealt to the Celtics by way of the (then) Fort Wayne (now, Detroit) Pistons after Washington's dispersal draft when that team went under. His stay with the team would span the other 10 seasons of his 11-year NBA career, winning four titles with Boston among many accolades before retiring in 1961. All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Rafael Devers Trade Unique As It Can Be Spun As Larceny For Both Sides
Fans of the NBA know where they were when they heard the news of the trade of Luka Doncic from the Mavericks to the Lakers. Most people's immediate reaction was, 'Is that all it took?' Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 1st round pick landed one of the NBA's elite players in his prime. A much lesser light in Desmond Bane was traded from Memphis to Orlando this week for a significantly larger package. Suffice it to say that Mavs' GM Nico Harrison didn't get the best detail he could for Doncic. Well, this week, one of MLB's biggest stars changed clubs. It was an unusual deal as both clubs involved fancy themselves as contenders, and no cash was included in the deal on either side. The Red Sox dealt cornerstone offensive player Rafael Devers to the Giants for lefty starter Kyle Harrison, righty hurler Jordan Hicks, 2024 1st round pick James Tibbs III, an outfielder, and rookie ball hurler Jose Bello. Depending on whose opinion you're reading, the deal has been spun as larceny for either club. Those with an analytical bent think the Giants got swindled, believing that Devers is not worth his 10-year, $313.5 million deal that runs through 2033, his age 36 season. Many others can't fathom how the Giants landed one of the best hitters in baseball without including a present significant MLB contributor in the deal. Honestly, there's merit on both sides of the equation. Any evaluation of Devers must include the ongoing fiasco involving his unwillingness to move off of third base in Boston. The Red Sox signed Alex Bregman as a free agent this past offseason, and he is a far superior defender compared to Devers. The assumption was that Devers would move to DH, and the club would be much improved. Problem was, no one let Devers in on this. Or at least, the club handled it so clumsily that Devers flatly refused to move at first. Then to make matters worse, 1B Triston Casas was injured and lost for the season, and Devers, now grudgingly serving as a very productive DH, wasn't willing to play first. After a brutal 0 for 19, 15 strikeout start, Devers locked in, and through Sunday's games, was hitting .272-.401-.504. So the club, who completed a three-game sweep of the Yankees on Sunday to improve its record to 37-36, could maintain the status quo, or shop their franchise player. They chose the latter. Harrison is the presumed gem of the deal. While he's only 9-9, 4.48, with a 178/62 K/BB ratio in 182 2/3 innings in his brief MLB career, his minor league pedigree is strong. Each year, I compile a list of top minor league starting pitcher prospects based solely on statistical performance and age relative to league and level. Harrison was my #37 pitching prospect in 2021, #2 in 2022 and #5 in 2023. That's pretty special stuff. The Red Sox have some pretty strong pitching evaluators in their front office and on their coaching staff in former big leaguers Craig Breslow and Andrew Bailey, and they obviously see something they like. They must also like what they see in Hicks, whose record is poor at 1-5, 6.47, but who absolutely throws the heck out of the baseball. He's locked up through through 2027 on a four-year, $44 million deal. Tibbs is a well regarded prospect, lacking star ceiling but possessing a high floor. Bello is a live-armed 20-year-old who hasn't even pitched in a full season league yet. He's a lottery ticket. The key to evaluating this deal is projecting Devers' future. And the first thing that must be done to that end is to assess his present, as he's unlikely to ascend from here, as he's moving the wrong way on the defensive spectrum and his body has begun to soften up at age 28. Batted ball authority has always been Devers' calling card, and on most batted ball types, he has reached career bests in 2025. His overall average exit speed of 94.0 mph, his fly ball average exit speed of 95.3 mph and his ground ball average exit speed of 92.8 mph are all career highs. The overall and grounder marks are over two standard deviations above league average, the fly ball mark is over one above. He's not Aaron Judge or Shohei Ohtani authority-wise, but he's in the next tier. His K/BB profile is also an asset, and that's a relatively new development. While his K rate has always been fairly well managed for a power hitter (22.8% this season, in the league average range), his BB rate has mushroomed to 16.8% this season, over two standard deviations above league average. He was leading the AL in walks with 56 at the time of the trade. His batted ball profile also has no measurable weaknesses. His 37.4% fly ball rate is his highest ever, and his 3.0% pop up rate is his lowest since 2020. Both are in the league average range. His 18.2% liner rate is nearly a career low, but I wouldn't sweat it - liner rates are notoriously volatile. On top of everything else, Devers sprays the ball to all fields on the ground - he is not an extreme grounder-puller. Thus far in 2025, Devers has been a bit lucky in the air (225 Unadjusted vs. 180 Adjusted Fly Ball Contact Score) and on a line (149 vs. 114), but has been very unlucky on the ground (94 vs. 143). All told, he 'should be' hitting a bit less than his current actual numbers, more like a .253-.380-.480 hitter, for a 150 wRC+. I'm not really sweating the low present batting average projection given the low liner rate. I see him as basically the same hitter he was in 2024, but with a higher walk rate. Where is he going? Let's compare him to Miguel Cabrera, an even better hitter whose body was in a better place at age 28. He remained at least a 5.0 WAR player (a level Devers hasn't exceeded since 2019) through age 33, and then fell off of a cliff. Devers' contract runs through his age 33 season. He's going to be falling from a lower peak, at perhaps a higher rate of descent than Cabrera, but if he can remain 80-90% of his present offensive self through age 31-32, could the Giants really complain? The other interesting angle here is that Devers is going from one team with a Gold Glove 3B to another, as Matt Chapman is locked in for the long term in San Francisco. Expect the Buster Posey-led Giants to more concisely and professionally lay out their expectations for their new star, who will move forward as a DH/1B. Another overlooked piece of this deal is that while there is risk in Devers' contract, there is also risk in Hicks'. Sure the Red Sox could figure him out and make him more productive, but the chances of him being an impact starter or a high-end closer would appear remote at this point. Useful piece? Sure, with some luck. This partially mitigates the financial cost absorbed by the Giants, and cut loose by the Sox. From the Bosox' perspective, it's all about Harrison. There's a high-end starter in there somewhere, and it's up to them to unlock it. They need to be patient with him, and if all goes well, he could be a nice counterpart to Garrett Crochet atop their rotation. So I get that Devers' contract might be technically underwater, but 28-year-old star bats generally aren't available, and the Giants are out from under Hicks' money now too. And I get that the Red Sox didn't get a now dude as part of this transaction, but they removed a massive financial liability that enables them to go star-hunting, and Harrison could turn out to be really something. When proponents of both sides of a deal are going crazy in polar opposite directions for entirely different reasons, the truth tends to be somewhere in the middle. It's now up to the players, player development systems and coaching staffs to get to work to determine who wins and loses it.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Exposing disrespect in The Hobby
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 13: Rafael Devers #11 of the Boston Red Sox looks on in the tenth inning against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park on June 13, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by) Let's talk this week about disrespect. Not about disrespecting each other, but the things in the industry that tend to get too much heat from us collectors. What do I mean? We'll, let's start with: Authentic Autos : Ok, let's run through a scenario on this one: I have two cards for sale; The first is a Shai Gilgeous-Alexander autographed Prizm rookie card. In 2018 he signed a bunch of stickers that Panini eventually took and then put one of those stickers on a rookie card and put it in a pack. SGA never once handled the card. The second is a base SGA Prizm rookie that a fan handed to him after a game and he signed and handed back to the fan; the card was then authenticated by PSA, so we know it's legit. Yeah, you'll pay 3x for the sticker auto because it's 'the real version' instead of paying for an actual card that he hand-signed. I get it, I would too, but are we not giving Authentic Autos the love they deserve? Centering : Just ask my buddy Dave Gonos, who brought this one to light in a recent conversation he had with Michael Salfino . Instinctually we tend to poo-poo centering because 'hey, it's not my fault the card isn't centered!' Everyone spends too much time looking at the corners and not enough time focusing on centering. Second-Year Cards : Everyone is rookie chasing these days. I know the product hasn't been out too long, but a Victor Wembanyama second-year base Prizm has a pop of just five PSA 10s. As opposed to his rookie Prizm which has a pop of like a million or something. Talk about 'rare.' Tennis Cards : Ok, hear me out - we are currently witnessing the greatest generation of young tennis players and it may well be that Carlos Alcaraz will go down in history as the greatest to ever do it. Pin this email and come back to it in like 16 years. If he's not I'll buy you a beer. Yo! MTV Raps 1991 Cards : There will never be another set like this. Never. And you can get a wax box of 36 packs for under $40. It basically has the 'rookie' card of every rapper from the early 90's and prior. Kingfisher 1936 Typhoo Tea British Birds and their Eggs Cards: These are cards from 1936… of birds… and their eggs! And you can get the complete set for under $10. The Nightengale's (probably) rookie card is in this set! Someone held onto them for almost 90 years and is like 'hell yeah, time to make $8 off these bad boys!' 1929 Carreras Famous Women - Florence Nightingale Cigarette Card : Speaking of… you can get a Florence Nightingale rookie card for under $15 . Nightingale is the GOAT nurse. Bro, don't come at me with 'Mary Seacole was doing the same thing but as an independent nurse, bro!!' That's a garbage take. Give me Nightingale in her prime. No disrespect to Mrs. Seacole, of course. I know it's been over 24 hours at this point but with the Red Sox trading Rafael Devers this might be the last opportunity to get a decent return on his cards. Whenever a superstar gets traded his/her new fanbase tends to pounce on any rare or rookie cards of that player. That heat cools off a few days after, but you might be able to still hit the tail-end of the 'run on' Devers cards. This week in 'can't stop, won't stop': ladies and gentlemen, Gamestop is back . They did over $211 million in increased collectibles sales in Q1. This is cool . This collector collects all baseball cards that have Fenway's Green Monster shown on the card. Love it. The closest thing I have is a collection of every card that shows the Menendez Brothers sitting courtside at a Knicks game. Killer set! I'm super excited about this news . We have WNBA Downtowns coming. Obviously, Caitlin Clark is the big get, but right behind her has to be the Paige Beuckers rookie Downtown. That actually might fetch a resale value close to Clark's. The Wyatt Langford 1/1 Rookie Debut Patch Auto sold this weekend for $183,000 at Goldin. Which makes it the third all-time highest sale for a Debut Patch 1/1 card. I'm not one to tell people how to spend their money, but – you know what, actually, I can get behind this. Advertisement The Rookie Debut Patch Auto cards are super cool looking and Langford at 23 years old is already showing some pop in his bat. Nice buy by the buyer, who hopefully was Langford himself. Fanatics Fest is back, baby. Get pumped. And according to Michael Rubin this year's is going to be '10-times better' than last year's. I know it's easy to be cynical about these celebrity, star-studded events but to be honest stuff like Fanatics Fest and The National are a big part of what make the hobby thrive. It brings the sports and entertainment worlds together, it fosters and facilitates community and more importantly it focuses on creating experiences that engage and entice young collectors. If you're interested in hanging with the Mantel team in NYC this week, let us know here , and make sure to stop by Bleecker Trading after the show every night to trade, catch up and eat pizza. Your collection deserves a community. Download Mantel today.
