Stevens: Brown 'big part' of Celtics, but won't predict future - ESPN

Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said Tuesday night that All-Star forward Jaylen Brown remains «valued» by the organization.

Stevens' comments came a day after ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Celtics offered Brown and two first-round picks to the Milwaukee Bucks as part of a trade package for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo. That proposal didn't materialize, and the Bucks agreed to send Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat instead.

Stevens didn't specifically address that trade when he met with the media after Boston picked Houston forward Chris Cenac Jr. with its first-round draft selection Tuesday night. But he did speak about the Celtics' current relationship with Brown, their own first-round pick 10 years ago.

«Jaylen Brown is a big part of us,» Stevens said. «I'm never going to predict the future. Every indication, every thing I think about, over the last few years, has been building around those guys. You never know. But at the same time, the one thing I want to make very clear is how valued he's always been. He's been amazing. He's been an amazing teammate and a great person to be around.»

Stevens added that he and Brown had multiple one-on-one meetings this offseason — as they usually do — and that he has remained in contact with Brown's agent.

«With all the rumor mill and all that stuff, and his name being splashed all over the place, that's not easy,» Stevens said. «We certainly wanted to be as proactive and upfront with that as possible. I thought we had really good, candid conversations.… I'll always keep our conversations private. I think it's appropriate regardless of what the content of those conversations is like.

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