This would be a blockbuster trade.
According to Chris Mannix of NBC Sports Boston, the Boston Celtics are interested in trading Jaylen Brown to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Evan Mobley.
Brown will make $57,078,728 next season, while Mobley will make $50,105,628.
Neither All-Star has a no-trade clause.
The Celtics offered Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was traded to the Miami Heat.
Boston is still open to trading Brown after not getting Antetokounmpo.
The 2024 Finals MVP, Brown averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game for the Celtics this past season. The five-time All-Star put up 25.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game against the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the 2026 playoffs, a series Boston lost in seven games despite taking a 3-1 lead.
For the Cavaliers this past season, Mobley put up 18.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He helped Cleveland reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018, but the New York Knicks swept the Cavaliers. Mobley averaged 17.0 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in the 2026 playoffs against the Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons and Knicks.
Brown and Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell are close friends, but the odds of Cleveland trading Mobley for Brown are very, very low. After all, multiple reports stated that the Cavaliers didn't even want to trade Mobley for Antetokounmpo, who is one of the best players in NBA history.
Mobley has been with the Cavaliers since 2021. He holds career averages of 16.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. The USC product won the 2024-25 Defensive Player of the Year Award.
Most people who cover the NBA expect the Cavaliers to run it back next season with Mobley, Mitchell, James Harden and Jarrett Allen. Whether that's the right decision or not is up for debate.
If Mobley doesn't play like a superstar next season, the Cavaliers will regret not trading him to the Bucks for Antetokounmpo, who is already a superstar of the highest order.
Brown is a great player, but it wouldn't make sense for Cleveland to trade Mobley to acquire him.
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