“I couldn’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to have two of the best players that are under 25 on your team” - Jayson Tatum comments on people urging the Boston Celtics to break up the Tatum-Brown duo
The Boston Celtics have long expressed their desire to build around Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. However, given how poorly they started the season, rumors have surfaced that Brown might be on the chopping block if improvements aren't made.
The Celtics put together an exciting and promising team during the offseason. However, with so many moving parts, they struggled to make an impression early on. It took them some time to adapt to the new way of things following significant changes in their front office and the introduction of a new head coach, Ime Udoka.
Former NBA player JJ Reddick recently invited Jayson Tatum for a sit-down on his show, The Odd Man & The Three. When asked if he and Brown had addressed the rumors about them ending their on-court partnership, Tatum said:
"Yeah, we've had plenty of talks. I think it's really picked up this year, especially at the beginning of the season."
"We asked each other, 'you wanna be here?' And we both was like 'yeah!' He was like bro, I don't understand. If you really think about it, we've had way more success together than this year and what we didn't accomplish last year. JB has been in three conference finals, I've been in two."
He added:
"I think we're both still very far from our prime. I think what people don't really understand is, you wanna break us up, the grass is not always greener"
"Not to toot my own horn, I think I'm one of the best players. So, I couldn't imagine why you wouldn't want to have two of the best players that are under 25 on your team. There are certain rough patches throughout a season, but we've won way more games together than we've lost."
The Tatum-Brown partnership could grow into an elite two-way threat but certainly needs to be given more time.
Jayson Tatum's improved performance fueled the Boston Celtics' winning streak
Although the Boston Celtics narrowly lost their last game against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, they were enjoying a nine-game winning streak before then.
After being in a play-in position, the C's have fought their way back into the thick of things and are currently ranked sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. It is safe to say that the Celtics are starting to figure things out and are doing a better job of securing victories.
Tatum and Brown have been very dominant in recent games and are letting the game come to them. Earlier in the season, they were taking ill-advised shots, and it caused quite a stir between them and Marcus Smart.
Jayson Tatum had himself a day 😤 https://t.co/j4xiJAskg4
In 56 games, Tatum is averaging 25.7 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists while shooting 43.4% from the field. It is worth noting that his three-point shooting percentage is at a career-low 32.9%.