The Boston Celtics may have missed out on the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, with the Milwaukee Bucks choosing to trade with the Miami Heat instead. And the Celtics missed out on a chance to trade Jaylen Brown to the Minnesota Timberwolves after they sent Naz Reid and a bevy of draft picks to the Charlotte Hornets for LaMelo Ball and Josh Green. Did Brown getting passed over in trades, twice, lower his value to be within range for the Denver Nuggets to make a sneaky move?
BREAKING: The Charlotte Hornets are trading star guard LaMelo Ball and Josh Green to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Naz Reid, a 2033 unprotected first-round pick, three first-round pick swaps (2028, 2029, 2030) and three second-round picks (2029, 2032, 2033), sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/lkhXBWHCrA
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 25, 2026
It's certainly possible. Tim Connelly was very aggressive in giving up an unprotected 2033 first-round pick, plus three first-round pick swaps, and three future second-round picks for Ball and Green. Brown certainly is more valuable than Reid, and the Wolves may not have wanted to give up so much ammo for Brown as they continue to retool in an effort to get past the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs in 2026-27.
The Nuggets should pick up the phone and see what the Celtics want
The Timberwolves got stopped short of the NBA Finals for three years in a row, just like the Nuggets, and they're on the move to retool for their best chance to break through next year. The Nuggets need to pick up the phone to contact the Celtics to see what they want for Brown. The media, like Bill Simmons, Brian Windhorst, and others, think Brown will end up being traded at some point.
The Nuggets could offer the Celtics Jamal Murray and Christian Braun for Brown and Payton Pritchard, and save $6.8 million in the process, plus get off Braun's contract. Brown would be a defensive upgrade and probably be even better in the Nuggets' offense working with Nikola Jokic than he was working with Jayson Tatum.
And the upgrade on defense on the perimeter, paired with Peyton Watson, would be formidable. Pritchard could be either the starting point guard, or the Nuggets could find a starter on the trade market and put Pritchard in the sixth man spot in the rotation.
The price could still be too high
If Murray and Braun won't do it, and the Celtics need Watson to make the move happen, along with Murray, then it becomes an issue. The main goal of trading Murray would be to get an upgrade on defense, and retaining Watson gives the Nuggets a defensive edge. But the appeal for the Celtics in Watson is the same as the Nuggets. A young wing with a higher ceiling than most imagined, paired with excellent defense.
If both sides want to get wild, they could do a star and role player swap that would work under the constraints in the trade machine. The Nuggets could send Murray, Braun, and Aaron Gordon for Brown, Derrick White, and Sam Hauser and save $5.4 million, too.
The Nuggets would be looking at a White, Watson, Brown, Cam Johnson, and Nikola Jokic starting five, with Hauser as the sixth man. Not too bad, the perimeter defense issue is solved, but the rim protection is still missing. Either way, the Nuggets need to start getting active on the trade market because the same core keeps getting stopped out before the ultimate goal.
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