The Hornets have reportedly emerged as potential suitors interested in landing Jaylen Brown, as the Celtics are reportedly listening to offers for their former Finals MVP. According to the sports anchor, Mike Lacett, the Hornets are among the teams interested in bringing the five-time All-Star to Charlotte.
The 2026 NBA Draft’s second night began with a bombshell report from ESPN’s senior NBA insider Shams Charania that the Celtics are listening to trade offers for Jaylen Brown.
“The Boston Celtics are actively engaged in trade talks surrounding Jaylen Brown with multiple interested teams. And I’m told there is a sense of purpose from teams around the league that they feel from the Celtics in these conversations,” said Charania.
“And that does not mean, though, that a deal is guaranteed because Jaylen Brown does have three years left on his contract. He’s got a supermax deal that he’s on.”
“But my understanding, the urgency from either side could change as the weeks go on. And this all comes in the wake of the Celtics losing out on Giannis after they offered Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks.”
“Giannis ends up with Miami. And now Jaylen Brown is still in Boston. He won a finals MVP in 2024. He was a league MVP finalist this year. And now his status is very much up in the air in Boston. His status is up in the air as we march towards free agency,” Charania concluded.
Initially, the Rockets and the Hawks were expected to lead the race since a fallout was predicted as a result of the trade, and that is exactly what seems to have happened. However, ESPN’s Zach Lowe later said that the Rockets are not interested in bringing Jaylen Brown to Houston.
“Houston keeps surprising me that they don’t come up in any of these talks. Frankly, I’ve heard they’re not super into Jaylen Brown, but that could change,” he said on his podcast.
Subsequently, Clutchpoints’ NBA insider Brett Siegel reported that it was not Jaylen Brown who requested this trade, but something that the Celtics’ front office only initiated. He also claimed that the Rockets, the Pelicans, and even the Timberwolves had engaged in trade dialogue with the Celtics.
Therefore, it seems that while the Rockets are engaged in the trade conversations, they don’t seem to be the frontrunners that they were expected to be. Meanwhile, after trading LaMelo Ball, the Hornets have acquired a war chest of draft assets that they could use to create an enticing trade package to offer the Celtics.
Reports initially suggested that the Celtics are looking for a high-level big man. According to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated, they are even willing to trade Brown to get one.
“Boston continued to discuss Brown trades on Tuesday, two sources familiar with the talks tell Sports Illustrated. Many of the conversations were initiated by rival teams, sources say. Some were brokered by the Celtics. ‘They are hunting a big man,’ says a rival executive. ‘And they are willing to trade [Brown] to get it,'” wrote Mannix in his latest report.
This is where the Rockets and the Hawks could fall behind in terms of what the Hornets could offer to the Celtics. I explained in my initial report why the Rockets could outbid the Hawks if it came down to those two teams (Sengun is objectively better than Okongwu).
Mike Lacett, who initially reported the Hornets’ interest, also suggested that the Hornets could have a hypothetical trade package centered around Naz Reid and the picks they acquired in the LaMelo Ball trade, along with Miles Bridges, a player that the Hornets are reportedly looking to trade.
In 2025-26, the Rockets’ player averaged 20.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 6.1 assists while shooting 51.5% from the field and 29.5% from beyond the arc (including the playoffs).
Meanwhile, Reid averaged 13.4 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while going 45.9% from the field and 36.6% behind the three-point line. And Bridges averaged 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists while going 46.0% from the field and 33.3% from the three-point range in the same duration.
Sengun is a two-time All-Star, while Reid’s peak achievement was being the Sixth Man of the Year in 2024. He is still a better three-point shooter, and he is tougher and more physical inside the paint as compared to Sengun.
While the Rockets could still offer Alperen Sengun in a potential trade, they may not offer as many draft assets as the Hornets possibly could with Reid and Bridges in their package.
Moreover, the Hornets are more eager to replace LaMelo Ball, and while they look to rebuild around Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller, the team is more desperate in terms of the need for veteran experience that a superstar like Jaylen Brown brings to the table.
While the Rockets still have a solid young core, with Amen Thompson and Kevin Durant still being the front faces of the franchise. Therefore, I anticipate that the Hornets could overlap the Rockets and the Hawks in this race to potentially land Jaylen Brown.
