Nets Rejected Jaylen Brown Trade Due to Kyrie Irving Concerns

The Brooklyn Nets had the assets to acquire Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics before he wound up with the Sixers, but Brooklyn passed on the opportunity because the team didn’t want the All-Star forward, according to a report.

According to Brian Lewis of the New York Post, the Celtics approached the Nets regarding a potential trade, and Brown was reportedly more than willing to relocate to Brooklyn. Despite chatter linking Michael Porter Jr., Day’Ron Sharpe, and draft capital to a prospective deal, the Nets shut down talks entirely. Decision-makers in Brooklyn feared Brown could introduce organizational friction mirroring their past turbulent experiences with Kyrie Irving, a close personal friend of Brown. “They weren’t lowballing,” a source told the New York Post. “They just shut it down altogether. They just said, ‘We’re not interested.'”

Egor Demin’s Injury and Staff Changes in New York

While the front office weighs future roster moves, the current squad deals with immediate health concerns. Nets guard Egor Demin exited Tuesday’s overtime loss to the Boston Celtics early due to a right leg contusion. Before leaving the floor, Demin managed two points and two assists across 10 minutes of action.

The Celtics reportedly tried to trade Jaylen Brown to the Nets, but Brooklyn rejected the deal because of his ties to Kyrie Irving, per @NYPost_Lewis Jaylen Brown publicly defended Kyrie Irving after his suspension for promoting an antisemitic video, calling Nets owner Joe… pic.twitter.com/HOjnsTdjcB

— https://x.com/thedunkcentral/status/2115258863133786293

Across town, the New York Knicks face their own bench adjustments. Assistant coach Chris Jent is away from the team indefinitely due to personal reasons, as Jared Schwartz and Stefan Bondy reported for the New York Post. Jent serves as the associate head coach managing the offense under Mike Brown and has missed the last three games, including a victory over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. Assistant coach T.J. Saint has stepped into Jent’s role on the front of the bench during his absence.

Meanwhile, MSG Sports has officially cleaved the Knicks and the NHL’s New York Rangers into two distinct publicly traded entities, according to Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. James Dolan retains his role as CEO and executive chairman for both organizations. Under the restructuring, the Knicks and the G League Westchester Knicks fall under MSG Knickerbockers Corp., while the Rangers, the AHL Hartford Wolf Pack, and the MSG training facility operate under MSG Rangers Corp. Knicks shares currently trade at approximately $300 apiece.