Raptors may be headed for harsh realization Celtics already avoided

Hardwood Houdini · Jul 21, 2026 19:35 · 3 min read

Raptors may be headed for harsh realization Celtics already avoided — Boston Celtics, Brad Stevens | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There were questions about whether the Celtics could repair their relationship with Jaylen Brown, just as there will be for the Raptors if they have to keep Brandon Ingram.

Boston Celtics feared that a Jaylen Brown trade was on the horizon when the team made him available in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks, only for the Bucks to send their superstar to the Heat. Those fears became real when the guard was sent to the Sixers.

Like it or not (and a lot of you reading this probably still don't like it), clearly, a trade needed to happen, or else Brown would still be in Boston. We don't know exactly what was said between the two sides after the Antetokounmpo trade. Still, you'd guess it would've been hard to repair that relationship after the awkwardness of making him available, only for the deal not to happen.

Speaking of, the Raptors could be in a similar position. Technically, they already are, as their Kawhi Leonard trade with the Clippers is on hold until the league's investigation into the alleged cap circumvention scandal is over.

If things don't go Los Angeles' way, the trade could be voided, sending Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick back to Toronto, knowing the team agreed to get rid of both.

Raptors could be stuck with awkward Brandon Ingram problem

The focus is more on Ingram, as Leonard wanted to go to the Raptors, so it's not like the Clippers traded him against his will. That's not to say that Los Angeles still wouldn't be stuck with its own issues (as it very much would be), which could include Kawhi's contract being voided. It's all still up in the air.

As for Toronto, it doesn't need to justify the trade, as the reason is evident, but still, to proceed, it will have to mend fences with Ingram, assuming the Raptors don't send him elsewhere if the deal with the Clippers falls through.

If he hangs around in Canada, the tension could derail what Toronto otherwise thought would be a season where it actually had a real shot at winning a title.

Does that sound familiar?

Putting aside what the Celtics received in return for Brown, which, to be clear, is obviously quite important, just not in this context, Boston's season could've gone off the rails if he had stayed around. It's not like they agreed to trade him only for the deal to fall through. Still, the point remains the same.

Brown's situation in Boston was far different than Ingram's in Toronto, but in the sense that trying to convince your star player he is wanted after you tried to trade him, it's not.

Of course, a voided trade isn't how the Raptors saw things playing out, but the Celtics also probably truly thought that by offering Brown to the Bucks, a trade would've happened. When things don't work out your way, you're left trying to either pick up the pieces and make it work or find another route. The first part of that can get messy.

The Celtics don't have to deal with that, now that Brown is gone (even if he's with the Sixers), but the Raptors could soon find themselves in that position.