Jaylen Brown checks every box for the Lakers except the one that matters most

Despite winning an NBA championship and Finals MVP in the 2023-24 campaign, Jaylen Brown had a surprising take on what season of his career was his favorite. Brown cited 2025-26 as the one that stood above the rest for him. The Los Angeles Lakers should not ignore that sentiment.

Brown cited the Celtics overachieving through uncertainty as a big reason as to why 2025-26 was his favorite. His teammates have even defended those comments, believing they were taken the wrong way for all the criticism he received. Still, there is the elephant in the room regarding this past season that is tough to ignore.

For the better part of it, the former Finals MVP got to serve as the number one option for Boston. Anyone attempting to read between the lines of what Brown had to say would have understandably raised an eyebrow to one part of his comments that hinted at his enjoyment of being top dog.

"I'm so proud of this group and the way we played. I wish we trusted that style of play a little bit more, but I know playoffs kind of shifted our rotations and what we wanted to do," Brown said.

Jaylen Brown may not want to play second fiddle to anyone after 2025-26

Was there discontent with the adjustments made to the returning Jayson Tatum? If there was, that could explain why Brown's name has suddenly landed in trade rumors again. Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Celtics has caught some momentum. JB has been floated as a part of the outbound package for Boston as a result.

Brown does not make a ton of sense for the Milwaukee Bucks, though. The Celtics star will be 30 years old before the end of the year. If the Bucks are doing a soft rebuild, there is not much reason for them to bring in the MVP candidate.

Many have begun speculating about where Brown could get rerouted if the Celtics do want to swap him out for Antetokounmpo. This is where Los Angeles comes in.

Teams like the Portland Trail Blazers and New Orleans Pelicans have come up as potential destinations for Brown. The Lakers do make some sense here, too.

Brown is an upgrade on paper over Reaves as a secondary star to Luka Doncic. The five-time All-Star certainly satisfies the desire for added athleticism on the wings, too. The 2024 NBA champ is also a highly capable defender on the perimeter, when dialed in. All of those aspects make him highly desirable for the Lakers.

Destinations like Portland and New Orleans make sense because they allow Brown to continue operating as the primary star on his team. In Los Angeles, the Lakers would ask him to take a back seat to Doncic, similarly to the way he has been in Tatum's shadow for most of his career.

Not only would Brown be asked to play second fiddle again, but it would be to the highest-usage player in the NBA last season. Doncic led that category with a 38.1 usage percentage.

The argument there could be that Doncic would concede that usage to help Brown fit in. However, the point about him being the clear second option to Luka remains the same.

Would Brown be willing to sign up for that? If the estimated friskiness regarding his fit on the Celtics is any indication, the answer would be no. Despite the talent upside of the star wing, the Lakers may just be better off not finding out.

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