NBA insider Jake Fischer revealed in a Bleacher Report live stream that the New Orleans Pelicans have been mentioned by various league executives as a team with interest in Celtics wing Jaylen Brown.
Fischer’s colleague Marc Stein had previously named Atlanta, Houston, and Portland as teams to watch in any potential Brown trade discussions this offseason.
However, Fischer was quick to note there have been no real indications yet that the Celtics will seriously consider trading the All-NBA second-teamer.
With Brown’s salary set to rise to $57MM in 2026/27, any Pelicans package would need to start with at least one of Zion Williamson, Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray, or Trey Murphy III for salary matching purposes.
Of those players, Fischer indicated that versatile sharpshooter Murphy would almost certainly draw the most interest from Boston or other potential trade partners in multi-team scenarios.
San Antonio had been among the teams most interested in Murphy over the past year or two, but the Spurs’ run to the NBA Finals this spring makes them less likely to make drastic roster moves this summer.
Fischer also addressed the future of Kyrie Irving in Dallas, saying he does not “necessarily believe” Irving will still be on the Mavericks’ roster by the start of the 2026/27 season.
Irving missed all of the 2025/26 season recovering from a torn ACL but should be ready for opening night in the fall, with plenty of teams expected to inquire about the star point guard in the coming weeks.
On the subject of the Philadelphia 76ers, Fischer suggested the team is “almost certain” to bring back both Joel Embiid and Paul George, despite Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe being viewed as the franchise’s top long-term building blocks.
Embiid and George would be difficult to move for any real value due to their multiyear, maximum-salary contracts, Fischer noted, making departures highly unlikely at this stage.
Fischer also said he would not be surprised if “most favorable” terms become more common on traded first-round picks, as teams look to hedge against the randomness of the new draft lottery format.
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