The Oklahoma City Thunder should be taking note of how the Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown trade saga is going. Because if they ever try to trade one of their stars – say, Chet Holmgren – it could get messy very quickly. The Celtics are learning that in real time, now that the Brown saga has gone public.
Over the years, the Celtics have liked to keep things close to the vest. They famously don’t like trade rumors to get leaked. But the Brown trade saga has been very public, largely due to its connection to Giannis Antetokounmpo. That’s something the Thunder can learn from. They shouldn’t want rumors to get leaked.
If OKC ever does decide to trade Holmgren, it needs to be very careful about it. Because as soon as things go public, they can get very messy.
Thunder should learn from the Jaylen Brown trade saga
The Thunder’s season ended in disarray this year. They got eliminated by the San Antonio Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. It was a tough end to an otherwise impressive attempt at repeating as champions.
OKC was dealing with injuries. Jalen Williams missed significant time, as did Ajay Mitchell. That left the Thunder in a rough spot. They needed someone to step up on offense. They needed Holmgren to be that guy. And he wasn’t.
Naturally, there was a short period of time when people began to throw out potential Holmgren trade ideas. But all of that seems very unlikely. Holmgren is still a very important part of the team.
But there could come a time when the Thunder decide that it’s best to move on from Holmgren and reshape things around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the rest of the roster.
If that time comes, Sam Presti should take a long, hard look at the way the Brown trade drama has unfolded before making any moves. He should want to keep things as private as possible.
As has happened in the Brown situation, once things go public, it’s very hard to put the lid back on the basket. By all accounts, Brown’s virtually gone. It would be hard to repair things.
Should Presti decide to explore the trade market with Holmgren, he should want to avoid the situation getting too detailed in the public eye. That’s what happened in Boston, and it seems to be a mess.
Keeping trade rumors under wraps is as important as ever, and the Thunder should learn that from what the Celtics are dealing with right now.
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