The Rockets ended the season with a 41-41 record, although they failed to achieve their goal of making the playoffs. But among the teams that missed the playoffs, the Rockets were the only team with a 50% win rate. In order to help the team return to the playoffs, Rockets management will also use their high-quality young players and first-round draft picks as trade chips this summer to find suitable reinforcements in the free agent or trade market. The American media "Fadeaway World" suggested that the Rockets go all out to pursue Celtics star Jaylen Brown this summer. The Celtics, who qualified for the Eastern Conference playoffs with the first record in the league, will face huge salary pressure this summer, and they signed Porzingis and Holiday last offseason, and have sent a contract extension for Holiday This summer, the Celtics will also negotiate a contract extension with the star Tatum, and it is conservatively estimated that Tatum's contract extension will not be less than $300 million.
The Houston Rockets, who had huge salary space last summer, wanted to recruit Jaylen Brown to his team. But Jaylen Brown eventually agreed a five-year, $305 million contract extension with the Greens. During the regular season this season, Jaylen Brown played 70 games for the Green Army, averaging 23 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. However, due to the team's huge salary pressure, the Celtics are likely to trade Jaylen Brown this summer and have completed a contract extension with Tatum to retain the Green Army's current championship roster to the greatest extent. And the Rockets also saw an opportunity to poach Jaylen Brown again. It is reported that the Rockets hope to use Jaylen Brown + Dillon Brooks + Cameron Whitmore + Jock Landale + 2024 Nets first-round pick + 2028 Rockets first-round pick as a trade chip to get Jaylen Brown from the Celtics.
Jaylen Brown once had a working experience with Rockets coach Udoka, and he naturally knows a lot about Udoka's tactical system, and he can play a plug-and-play effect when he joins the Rockets. What's more, Jaylen Brown is physically excellent, well-rounded offensively and defensively, and can play as a small forward and shooting guard, both positions are a top swingman in the league. His addition can give the Rockets a strong point on the offensive end, and the Rockets also solve the problem of not having an offensive core. And Jaylen Brown, who came to the Rockets to join forces with Udoka again, naturally became the boss of the Rockets, and he did not have to condescend to Tatum and have unlimited firing rights, which is a condition that the Green Army cannot give.
For the Celtics, completing the Jaylen Brown trade means that the duo is officially dismantled, but it creates favorable conditions for Tatum's contract extension. The Celtics can retain the current championship roster to the greatest extent, including Porzingis, Holiday and other important role players may stay with the Celtics to continue to play. And Jalen Green and Whitmore are both young players with great potential, and Dillon Brooks is also a very aggressive defensive stalwart, which fits in with the Celtics' iron-blooded temperament. At the same time, the Celtics also acquired multiple first-round picks for the team, which can be used as future trade chips for the Celtics to continue to strengthen the roster.