Rumors link Boston's high-scoring wing to a homecoming, but a hefty contract and gutting the roster could turn this potential dream acquisition into a long-term financial nightmare.
There's no place like home. That can be true in several different ways.
NBA players seem to feel differently. For some, playing in front of their home crowd is a dream come true. For others, the idea was to leave home. They'd prefer to visit family and friends when it's convenient.
How does the Boston Celtics' Jaylen Brown feel? Who knows? For some time now, Brown has been linked to his hometown Atlanta Hawks. Now, rumors suggest the Celtics could shop Brown this summer.
Should the Hawks pursue him?
Hawks could consider bringing in hometown hero
Let's disregard the question of whether Brown would want to go to Atlanta. The question here is whether the Hawks should want Brown.
For some time, Brown has been a polarizing player. His talent as a shotmaker has never been in question, but advanced metrics have not always indicated that it helps teams win games.
Now, he's coming off a career-best season. Brown averaged 28.7 points per game with a solid 57.3% true shooting mark (TS%). His 3.3 box plus/minus (BPM) was a career high.
For the uninitiated, that's not an elite BPM, but it is a good number. Moreover, BPM is an imperfect stat. It doesn't account for offensive gravity, shot difficulty, or even point-of-attack defense especially well. It's fair to say that Brown's strengths are largely the ones that don't show up in advanced stats.
So, Brown is a star-caliber player. That should be uncontroversial. He would make the Hawks a better team:
That doesn't necessarily mean they should trade for him.
Hawks could kill future flexibility in Brown deal
Here's one complicating factor: Brown is coming off a career year. He's going to be exorbitantly expensive on the trade market.
Moreover, the Hawks could be in a sticky situation. For now, fans are eager to see where their New Orleans Pelicans lottery pick lands. If it lands in the top four, it would be wiser for the Hawks to simply draft the best player available. Yet, if it lands outside of the top four, it's not going to be enough to headline a Brown deal.
It should also be noted that Brown won't just be expensive to acquire. He's also expensive, full stop. His deal runs to 2028-29 with an average annual value (AAV) of $57.0 million. The Hawks would be forced to put whatever they could around Brown and Jalen Johnson. It's difficult to even imagine a deal that doesn't gut a roster that flashed immense potential last year.
So, in short, a Brown deal likely doesn't make sense. The only conceivable exception would be if the Hawks landed the No. 5 pick. That could be a sweet spot, one where the pick anchors the return and lets the Hawks hang onto future assets. Even then, adding Brown's contract to the ledger is a problem.
It might be better if home is a place that he only visits.
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