Despite the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combo has helped the Boston Celtics reach either the Conference Finals or NBA Finals in four of the past six seasons, some still want to see the dynamic duo broken up since they have yet to actually win a ring.
But the opposite viewpoint suggests the Celtics would be out of their minds to break apart the key parts of their core now after coming so close to reaching their goals. And with Brown still just 26, and Tatum even younger at 25 years old, there’s no urgency to shake up the roster any time soon.
Yet, this is the NBA, and we frequently see massive trades that shake up the landscape in the flash of a tweet. Might the Celtics decide to join the fray?
Not according to some league sources who spoke with Steve Bulpett of The Heavy. While Brown does have a massive contract extension coming up, where he’s eligible to receive a five-year offer worth as much as $290 million, one GM suggested the dollar figures don’t matter due to how effective the Celtics’ All-NBA wing is.
Even though other teams around the Association would likely offer a King’s ransom for the two-time All-Star, an anonymous GM says we shouldn’t expect Brown to be traded from Boston this offseason.
“From everything I’ve heard and I know, Boston wants Brown. They see him as a big part of their future. But if things get messed up there — major injuries or things like that — you have to have the ability to make trades.
Unnamed NBA GM on Jaylen Brown’s status with Boston Celtics
Losing Brown for nothing in free agency would be a much bigger risk than simply paying their homegrown talent an enormous amount of money. Based on how other NBA GMs view the situation, the Celtics would much rather hand their star shooting guard a max-level extension than consider any other options. Based on their results, who can blame them?
- Jaylen Brown’s stats last season: 26.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 49% FG, 33% 3PT
While the Celtics once again came up short in the postseason, we also have to remember it was head coach Joe Mazzulla’s first season at the helm. It’s not like Boston didn’t still finish with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, winning 57 games along the way.
If there’s one lesson we can take away from other teams going all in during recent years, the moves don’t always pan out. So far, Atlanta, Minnesota, and Phoenix haven’t gotten the results they hoped for after trading for Dejounte Murray, Rudy Gobert, and Kevin Durant. But here the Celtics are with an already strong roster. Should they really be in a hurry to make drastic changes?
Related: Boston Celtics GM addresses Jaylen Brown’s future with the team