NBA trade proposal sends Celtics’ Jaylen Brown to Hawks

September 23, 2025

Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics, NBA — File photo

NBA news is fairly slow at this time of year. So, as always, why not stir things up with another trade proposal? Only this time, I didn’t have to conjure it myself. Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz went ahead and did the heavy lifting.

The deal he cooked up:

Hawks get: Jaylen Brown
Celtics get: Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher, 2029 first-round pick (top-10 protected)

Yep, you read that right. Brown back home in Georgia, running alongside Trae Young and Kristaps Porzingis. Meanwhile, Boston keeps trimming salary under its new ownership, adds youth in Johnson and Risacher, and pockets a future first for good measure.

Why Atlanta might say yes

Brown is from Marietta, just outside Atlanta, and he’s hinted before that he wouldn’t mind suiting up for the Hawks someday. Adding him now would give the Hawks an All-Star wing who just two years ago helped Boston win a championship and walked off with Finals MVP honors. With Young and Porzingis, that’s a three-headed monster worth watching in the East.

Why Boston might say yes

Well, “yes” might be a stretch, but Swartz’s logic is that the Celtics are not title contenders this season with Jayson Tatum sidelined by an Achilles tear. Brown makes $53 million this year, and Boston’s new ownership is clearly prioritizing financial flexibility. Trading him now nets two promising forwards plus a pick while staying below the dreaded second apron.

The bottom line

Like most of these things, it probably doesn’t happen. The Celtics would essentially be punting on a year of Brown’s prime, and Hawks fans will tell you they’d rather not gut their young core. Still, it’s not the wildest idea we’ve heard — especially with Brown’s Georgia roots and Boston’s shifting priorities.

For now, just another fun one to debate while we count down the days until training camp.