Grade the mock trade: Kings land Jaylen Brown in blockbuster deal
By Logan Struck
The NBA is full of blockbuster trades as every team sets up for their best chances at a title. The Sacramento Kings last “blockbuster” deal landed them Domantas Sabonis, who immediately improved their team and took them toward the top of the Western Conference.
To acquire star players such as Sabonis, teams have to give up players that fans have grown an attachment to. For Sabonis, the Kings gave the Indiana Pacers a young Tyrese Haliburton, who wanted to stay in Sacramento and help turn the franchise around. The NBA is a cold business, and front offices always want to do what is best for the franchise.
The Sacramento Kings are coming off a disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Golden State Warriors, and bringing back the five starters from that team might not be enough for a championship run.
The Sacramento Kings could make a move for Celtics’ Jaylen Brown.
While Jaylen Brown has been valuable to Boston in their 2022 Finals and 2023 Eastern Conference Finals runs, the star shooting guard could be on the market. Coming off an All-NBA 2nd Team appearance, Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics have had trouble agreeing to a “supermax” contract extension.
This contract holdup might not mean much, but trades always start with speculation, so let’s get Jaylen Brown to Sacramento. Here is the hypothetical deal that could get the star to the Kings: