Windhorst says Brown likely stays with Celtics

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst says there’s a “very good chance” Jaylen Brown remains with the Boston Celtics, despite trade heat and rumors linking him to a swap involving Giannis Antetokounmpo.

On a day when trade talk seems to swirl around Jaylen Brown no matter where he stands, ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst offered a different picture—one that suggests Boston’s star is unlikely to be going anywhere.

Windhorst said he understands the “heat around Jaylen Brown and the Celtics. ” but doesn’t believe the team will move him before the start of the upcoming season. On a recent episode of his “Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective” podcast. he described Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens as steady rather than reactive.

“I understand that there’s this sort of heat around Jaylen Brown and the Celtics,” Windhorst said. “(President of basketball operations) Brad Stevens is a cool customer. He doesn’t act rashly. He’s not responsive.”

From there, he made his core point directly. “I am not a believer that Brown is not going to be a Celtic at the start of the season. ” Windhorst said. “I believe there’s a very good chance Jaylen Brown is staying put with Jayson Tatum. Now, other moves the Celtics might make, that’s a different story.”.

The tension for Celtics fans is obvious: Brown has been heavily linked in trade rumors involving a swap with the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Windhorst hasn’t reported anything matching that storyline. In fact, he said he hasn’t heard any indication Brown is actually available.

“I hadn’t heard one iota” of Brown being available in trade discussions earlier this month, Windhorst said, adding: “Maybe someone has called on Jaylen Brown, but I haven’t heard one iota about Jaylen Brown being truly available.”

Even if the Celtics keep Brown, the contract situation still adds uncertainty to how smoothly the offseason could play out. Windhorst pointed to a potential split between what the team might want and what Brown might choose.

“I know that there’s a possibility Jaylen Brown is not going to finish his career as a Celtic,” Windhorst said. “I know there’s a possibility that the Celtics don’t want to give him an extension this summer. That could be a thing.”

Under the numbers Windhorst referenced, Boston would have the option to sign Brown to a two-year, $142 million extension later this summer—on top of the supermax money Brown would earn over the next three seasons: $57 million in 2026–27, $61 million in 2027–28, and $65 million in 2028–29.

But Windhorst’s comments left the door ajar. It doesn’t seem, at least from his perspective, that the Celtics are “100 percent intent” on extending the offer—and it’s also unclear whether Brown would agree to it, despite his public comments about wanting to stay in Boston for the rest of his career.

The conversation gets even more personal through Basketball Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady. who said he believes Brown has been frustrated with the Celtics organization. McGrady’s comments went viral after Boston was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last month. and he connected that moment to something deeper.

“I think his frustration lies deeply within the organization and other things that we don’t have the details to,” McGrady said. “There’s just been a lot of stuff that I’ve been hearing going on with the Boston organization with J.B.”

McGrady also clarified that he hadn’t heard directly from Brown. Still, he said he “knows his friend” and noticed “certain things” after the team’s loss.

What makes this offseason particularly hard to predict is that McGrady’s frustration language didn’t turn into a prediction of departure. He said, in lockstep with Windhorst, that he believes Brown will stay in Boston.

“I’m looking forward to having them back together if they stay together. which I think they will. ” McGrady said in a clip from his “Cousins” podcast with Vince Carter. “If they can figure it out – they figured it out a couple years ago – but to get back to what they were. I like what we’re gonna see out of Boston next year. J.T. is hungry. You know Jaylen Brown is going to be hungry.”.

Taken together. the message is both calming and complicated: Windhorst says there’s a “very good chance” Brown remains with the Celtics and that he hasn’t heard Brown is truly available in trade discussions. even amid rumors involving Giannis Antetokounmpo. At the same time. he suggests the extension could be uncertain. and McGrady—while expecting Brown to stay—insists Brown’s frustration with the organization is real.

Whether Brown is a certainty in a Celtics jersey come October depends less on whether the rumors will keep circulating, and more on what happens next—especially as the basketball world waits for any possible Giannis trade to shake up everything around Boston’s offseason plans.

Jaylen Brown Boston Celtics Brian Windhorst Brad Stevens Jayson Tatum Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks NBA trade rumors Tracy McGrady