The Houston Rockets are making their offseason direction easier to read: they do not want in on Jaylen Brown.
That stance matters because Brown has been one of the league’s loudest trade-storyline names, and Houston had been viewed by some as a team to watch. But after a season that ended with a first-round playoff exit and fell short of championship expectations, the Rockets have stayed quiet in the market instead of chasing another splashy move.
The latest word came from NBA analyst Bill Simmons, who said on his podcast that Houston is steering clear of any Brown pursuit.
"Houston has literally been telling everybody 'we want no part in Jaylen, we're not interested', says the team was a Bravo show and had the weirdest team last season,” Simmons said.
That lines up with how the Rockets have built this roster. They already made their headline move last offseason, landing Kevin Durant in a blockbuster seven-team trade, and the team still has a young core that it clearly values. Houston seems to believe internal growth, plus the presence of Durant and Alperen Sengun, can keep it on a championship path.
There’s also the price tag. Any Brown deal would likely force the Rockets to give up major pieces from that young group, with names like Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, and Jabari Smith Jr. likely needed along with future draft capital. On top of that, Brown’s contract would be a serious commitment.
For Houston, that combination apparently makes the answer simple: stay put, keep the core intact, and pass on Brown.
In Other News...
Celtics Just Made A Quiet Offseason Call On Two Young Picks
Amid a quieter stretch of offseason business, Boston has made one of those small but meaningful roster decisions that can shape the back end of the teams future. The Celtics did not extend qualifying offers to Max Shulga or John Tonje, a move that leaves both young guards headed into the summer without the usual team-controlled pathway.
Shulga and Tonje were late second-round picks from a year ago, and both spent time moving between Bostons standard roster and two-way territory as they tried to carve out a place. For a front office that has been sorting through several qualifying-offer calls around the league, the decision on those two keeps the Celtics own picture a little cleaner, even if it also opens the door for other possibilities in free agency. [Read more 🡒]
NBA Bombshell Just Put An Unthinkable Star In Boston's Orbit
LeBron James decision to tell the Lakers he will play elsewhere next season sent the league into immediate speculation mode, and Boston inevitably got pulled into the conversation. With James headed toward unrestricted free agency, the usual heavyweight suitors are already being discussed, but the Celtics have at least been mentioned as a team that could theoretically enter the mix if they wanted to shake up the entire landscape.
For Boston, the appeal would be obvious even before the bigger legacy questions come into play. The Celtics could put a real contract offer on the table, and the basketball fit would be just as tempting, with James able to ease into a secondary role next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown while still supplying playmaking, passing and rim pressure. Whether that idea ever moves beyond the realm of possibility is the part worth watching, because the door only opens if Boston decides this is more than a wild summer thought. [Read more 🡒]
Jaylen Browns Father Just Took Celtics Frustration Public
Marselles Brown has been willing to say publicly what Celtics fans have heard swirling around Jaylen Brown all summer: the noise around his son has started to feel bigger than basketball. During an appearance on Sway In The Morning, he defended Jaylen against criticism from ESPN voices Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins, pushing back on the idea that the Celtics star somehow deserves the backlash that followed Bostons playoff exit and the reaction to his comments afterward.
The timing matters because Brown is coming off a career-best season, yet the conversation around him keeps getting dragged into accountability debates and trade chatter. Marselles Brown argued the criticism has crossed a line, turning a basketball argument into something more personal, and it only adds another layer to a Celtics offseason that has already been defined by speculation about how the team views one of its most important players. [Read more 🡒]