‘Very good chance’ Jaylen Brown remains with Celtics

Boston Celtics

Amid a flurry of trade rumors related to Brown, an ESPN reporter said he doesn’t think Boston will trade him.

Written by Callie Brown

June 19, 2026 | 7:02 pm

3 minutes to read

Will Celtics star Jaylen Brown play for the Boston Celtics in the upcoming NBA season?

It depends on which reporter you listen to.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst doesn’t think Brown is going anywhere this season.

“I understand there’s this kind of heat around Jaylen Brown and the Celtics,” he said on a recent episode of his radio show, “Brian Windhorst and the Hoop Collective.” “(President of Basketball Operations) Brad Stevens is a great agent. He doesn’t act rashly. He doesn’t react.”

“I’m not a believer that Brown won’t be a Celtic at the start of the season…I think there’s a very good chance Jaylen Brown will stay with Jayson Tatum. Now, other moves the Celtics might make, that’s a different story.”

“I understand there’s that kind of tension around Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics. I’m not a believer that Jaylen Brown won’t be a Celtics player at the start of the season… I think there’s a very good chance Jaylen Brown will stick with Jayson Tatum.” @Windhorst ESPN pic.twitter.com/uwwXwoHNuW

– Drew (@dru_star) June 19, 2026

Brown has been heavily linked to trade rumors including a trade to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Windhorst has reported nothing of the sort, quite the opposite, including his recent comments. He said he had not heard “one iota” about Brown’s involvement in trade discussions earlier this month.

“Maybe someone has called Jaylen Brown, but I haven’t heard one bit about Jaylen Brown actually being available,” Windhorst said.

Although he doesn’t envision Brown playing elsewhere, Windhorst made a separate surprising comment regarding Brown’s contract situation.

“I know there’s a possibility that Jaylen Brown won’t finish his career as a Celtic player. I know there’s a possibility that the Celtics won’t want to give him an extension this summer,” he said. “This could be something.”

Boston will be able to sign the 29-year-old to a two-year, $142 million extension later this summer, on top of the super money he’ll earn over the next three seasons ($57 million in 2026-27, $61 million in 2027-28, $65 million in 2028-29).

But according to Windhorst, the Celtics don’t seem 100 percent intent on extending the offer.

It’s also unclear whether Brown will put pen to paper, despite his public comments about wanting to stay in Boston for the rest of his career.

Brown’s mentor, Basketball Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady, said he believes Brown is frustrated with the Celtics organization in comments that went viral after Boston was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last month.

“I think his frustration lies deep within the organization and other things that we don’t have details about,” McGrady said. “There were a lot of things I heard happening with the Boston establishment with JB.”

McGrady went on to clarify his comments when he explained that he had not heard from Brown directly, but said he “knew his friend” and noticed “certain things” after the team’s loss.

That doesn’t mean Brown won’t be wearing a Celtics uniform come October. McGrady recently said, in agreement with Windhorst, that he believes Brown will stay with the Celtics despite the rumors.

“I’m looking forward to getting them back together if they stay together, which I think they will,” McGrady said in a clip from his own page. “Cousins” podcast. With Vince Carter. “If they can figure that out — they figured that out two years ago — but to get back to where they were, I like what we’re going to see out of Boston next year. JT is hungry. You know Jaylen Brown is going to be hungry.”

However, the unfolding story surrounding Brown remains interesting as the basketball world awaits a potential trade for Giannis.