In the immediate aftermath of the Boston Celtics trade of Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for an aging Paul George and four future draft picks, the Celtics are reported to be interested in trading for Trey Murphy III of the New Orleans Pelicans.

Needing to find a way to replace Brown’s production in the lineup, Boston now has more assets to use in a trade to pursue upgrading the roster to remain competitive in the Eastern Conference.

Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix reported the Celtics have “kicked the tires” on trading for Murphy and the assets acquired from Brown’s-76ers haul will help with that.

“Boston has kicked the tires on Trey Murphy III, sources say. This deal gives them more assets to pursue him.”

Last season, Murphy had the best season of his career, averaging 21.5 points per game on 47/38/89 shooting splits. He also added 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game.

Boston will need to make another addition to make up for Brown’s absence. George is aging and hasn’t lasted a full season in a long time. If the Celtics are able to land Murphy, it would give them another do-it-all player on the court and that’s important.

The Eastern Conference is getting more competitive and the Celtics can’t take a further step backwards for next season after trading Brown.

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