Report: Nets rejected Celtics offer of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, first-round pick for Kevin Durant in 2022

According to NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN, the Brooklyn Nets rejected the Boston Celtics offer of Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and a first-round pick for Kevin Durant in 2022. 

The Nets wound up trading Durant to the Phoenix Suns for Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson and multiple draft picks. 

“…they[Celtics] offered Jaylen Brown, they offered Derrick White, and a 1st round pick for KD…”
-Shams Charnania[@ShamsCharania] via The Pat McAfee Show

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Interesting….#NBA pic.twitter.com/zhMAsPYmtD

— Chris Gorman (@GormanChristoph) April 2, 2025

The Celtics won the 2024 championship against the Dallas Mavericks. Brown was named Finals MVP. 

Meanwhile, Durant hasn’t reached a conference finals since leaving the Golden State Warriors in 2019. 

The Suns and Durant are expected to work together on a trade this offseason. Durant will make $54.7 million next season in the final year of his contract.

Brooklyn is in rebuild mode right now. The team is hoping to get the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft so the front office can draft Cooper Flagg from Duke. 

At one point, the Nets had Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Brooklyn lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the 2021 playoffs in seven games. 

Harden, Irving and Durant requested trades from Brooklyn. The Nets traded Harden to the Philadelphia 76ers and sent Irving to the Mavericks. 

Harden currently plays for the Los Angeles Clippers. He requested a trade from the Sixers. 

The Celtics, who were recently sold for $6 billion, are a second apron NBA team. A group led by Bill Chisholm, managing partner at Symphony Technology Group, has agreed to purchase the Boston franchise.

The group led by Chisholm, a lifelong Celtics fan born and raised in the Boston area, includes Boston business executives and philanthropists Rob Hale — a current Celtics owner — and Bruce A. Beal Jr.

$6.1 billion is the highest amount paid for a franchise in North American sports history.

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Celtics could look into trading Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday to lower their salary.