Jaylen Brown has been a hot topic of discussion for a while in the NBA market. The last year’s All-star member was reported by Shams Charania as being targeted mainly by Philadelphia 76ers’ Daryl Morey if the Boston Celtics are willing to swap for the disgruntled Ben Simmons. 

But, in the minds of Cs President Brad Stevens, these things are unnecessary on his ideal plans for Beantown basketball. 

Joining Toucher and Rich on 98.5 The Sports Hub, the former lead tactician addressed the issue with Brown exactly, and clarified to the swingman that the team has no plans to trade him.

“I just walked up to Jaylen and said, ‘Hey, your name’s all over the place, as you know. Obviously, from our standpoint, you’re a Celtic and a guy that we obviously we think exceptionally high of, and, you know, nothing doing,’” Stevens said. “I just wanted to make sure he had that peace of mind.”

And when asked what Brown’s response was, Stevens provided a short answer.

“Thumbs up, good,” Stevens said. “I don’t think he thought twice about it either.”

Stevens added that he even ‘laughed’ when he heard these rumors. As the new holder of the basketball operations of Boston, this may seem to be a common scenario on his part. 

“I laugh,” Stevens said. “I’ve just been through it so much over the last however many years. It’s not necessarily that – I know everybody has their own thing and has to react to everything. But the way things are written, the way that stories take hold, the way that rumors catch fire, I’ve just been through it too much over the last however many years to pay much attention. Obviously, if there is something that gains enough steam or gains enough media attention, then you want to have conversations with the people in your building just to make sure that they know what’s real.”

Yet Stevens didn’t deny the idea that the Celtics are having conversations with other teams for doing a roster reconstruction, but he explained that there’s a specific line for letting go of a complementary piece and having inside talks with the other franchise.

“When you get into the trade rumors, obviously, there are going to be rumors, there’s going to be talks,” Stevens said. “We have to be on the phone but we also have to be prudent and smart about what we are doing with our own team. I would say most of the time I’ve been here at least, there’s a lot less to it than what’s real.”

Brown remains on the sideline, recovering  from a right hamstring strain and is expected to miss 1-2 weeks of on-court time. He currently leads Boston in scoring this season with a career-high 25.6 markers per game. 

The Celtics stomped the Toronto Raptors, 104-88, on Wednesday, winning their three of last four games.