New Blockbuster Three-Team Trade Proposal Sends Jaylen Brown to San Antonio, Atlanta Adds Elite Shooter

The offseason is here for 28 teams in the NBA. The NBA finals have arrived and there are only two teams left alive with hopes of making it to the ultimate goal of winning a championship. Heading into this offseason, the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, and San Antonio Spurs are all searching for the next steps to take as a franchise, which is different for all three.

Atlanta is going to be a team worth watching. Most will point to a potential Trae Young trade, but that does not appear likely (for now) and Atlanta may move forward with this core of Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu. If the Hawks decide to do that, they need to improve their bench in a big way this offseason. Due to the NBA's CBA and apron rules, you are going to be seeing a lot more three-team trades between teams so salaries can move around. Atlanta could try to attach themselves to a big deal and add some pieces to their bench if they opt to move forward with this starting five. The Hawks need interior defense, frontcourt depth, shooting, and maybe a backup lead guard/ball handler. This is not a great free agent class to be filling those needs, so could the Hawks look to the trade market? NBA insider Marc Stein has already reported that Atlanta could look to be facilitators this summer in the trade market due to their financial flexibility, depending on if the team brings back any of Caris LeVert, Clint Capela, or Larry Nance.

Boston not only fell short in their attempt to repeat as NBA champions, but they lost star Jayson Tatum to an Achilles injury and he is likely to be out for the entire 2025-2026 season. Not only that, but Boston is facing some restrictive finances due to being in the second apron and all that comes with that.

Another season of being in the second apron would result in their first-round pick seven years into the future becoming "frozen" and ineligible to be traded. Furthermore, second-apron teams cannot use the mid-level exception, cannot aggregate salaries in trades, cannot take back more salary than they send out in trades, cannot send cash in trades, and cannot sign-and-trade a player for another player.

Specifically, Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are two obvious candidates to be moved elsewhere. Porzingis is consistently unavailable for Boston and has looked hobbled throughout the 2025 playoffs after he missed most of the championship run. His rim protection and floor spacing are valuable, but the Celtics won't be without either if they move on from him. Even in this situation, Boston could try to move these guys and stay competitive in a weak Eastern Conference, even without Tatum.

While it seems very far-fetched, Jaylen Brown could be traded as well. because he would bring the most back in a trade. I don't think the Celtics want to trade Brown, what if they get an offer they can't refuse?

San Antonio is one of the most interesting teams to watch this summer. They have Victor Wembanyama, Stephon Castle just won Rookie of the Year, they made the midseason move to get De'Aaron Fox, and they landed the No. 2 pick in this year's draft, where they are likely to draft Rutgers guard Dylan Harper. This team has a lot of young talent and plenty of assets to make a move. How aggressive do they want to get this summer?

So how about a trade where each of these teams tries to fill a need?

It should be noted that this is just a speculative and fun exercise to see what kind of moves can be made, not what I think the Hawks or any other teams should do or will do. That is all.

Hawks Receive: Keldon Johnson, Sam Hauser, and Blake Wesley

Spurs Receive: Jaylen Brown, Terance Mann, Vit Krejci, a 2027 2nd round pick (from ATL, via CLE), and a 2031 2nd round pick (via ATL)

Celtics: Devin Vassell, Jeremy Sochan, a 2025 1st round pick (via SAS, No. 14 overall), and a 2027 1st round pick (from SAS, via ATL)

Why the Hawks do this trade: They improve their bench in two key areas. Hauser is shooting over 40% from three for his career and would add a key element that they are missing off the bench. Johnson provides the Hawks with frontcourt depth, which was exposed when Jalen Johnson went down with his injury. They get off of Mann's contract and keep both of their first-round picks. Atlanta could have one of the deepest teams in the Eastern Conference with their starting five of Young, Daniels, Risacher, Johnson, and Okongwu with a bench of Johnson, Hauser, Caris LeVert (if he is brought back), Georges Niang, Kobe Bufkin, and two first-round picks. That is a team that can compete for a top-six spot in the Eastern Conference.

Why the Hawks don't do this trade: They don't want to take on the money and contracts of Hauser and Johnson. Hauser has four years left on his deal and Johnson has two years.

Why the Spurs do this trade: They add one of the best two-way players in the league and one that fits their timeline. A lot of speculation is around the Spurs trying to get Kevin Durant, but Brown is younger and would give them a long-term core around Wembanyama, Fox, Castle, and Harper. Mann and Krejci are solid bench options that can help replenish the players they sent out

Why the Spurs don't do this trade: They want to save their assets for a bigger move. While Giannis Antetokounmpo seems unlikely to get traded this summer, he could be available later and the Spurs might decide to save their assets for that deal. Brown is also on a large contract. Their bench would have some serious concerns.

Why the Celtics do this trade: They get back two young, solid players for Brown as well as two premium picks. They clear plenty of cap space and could clear more if they move Holiday and Porzingis. Vassell would be a nice complement to Tatum when he returns and they would now have two first round picks.

Why the Celtics don't do this trade: Brown is a franchise icon and Boston may not want to break up the duo of him and Tatum, no matter how big of an offer they get. Vassell and Sochan are good players, but they are high-level role players and not anywhere near the level of Brown.

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