NBA Trade Rumors: Jaylen Brown not in Boston Celtics' long-term plans; might get traded in the next 12-18 months
The Boston Celtics might be considering splitting up 'The Jays' as the duo of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum might have run its course.
The Celtics made three out of four Eastern Conference Finals appearances from 2017 to 2020 but have since fallen off a cliff. They were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season and are the 10th seed right now with an underwhelming 13-14 record.
They replaced coach Brad Stevens with coach Ime Udoka but so far there have been no significant improvements. They are 19th in the NBA in offensive rating and 11th in defensive rating.
Bleacher Report's Jake L. Fischer appeared on SiriusXM NBA Radio and spoke about the changes that the Boston Celtics franchise might make in order to be competitive again. He said:
"I think this is definitely the beginning of the end for the Jayson Tatum-Jaylen Brown pairing...I don’t know if that will get broken up this season. But I think sometime in the next 12-18 months we’re really going start to hear about to hear the conversations about the future of Boston with Jaylen Brown heading out the door."
Many analysts have started to question the chemistry between Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. They are exceptional individual talents but when paired together, it isn't always pretty.
Both Brown and Tatum are isolation players that have had questionable decision-making down the stretch. When they are on the floor together, the Boston Celtics' net field goal attempts drops by 4.4 points per 100 possessions.
Jayson Tatum is the face of the franchise who has some incredible highlight moments, like dropping 50 and 60 points to carry the team to wins. Jaylen Brown, on the other hand, hasn't been a reliable second option and if there was a break-up of the duo, Brown would certainly be the one who gets traded.
The Suns took care of the Celtics last night, sending them to a 13-14 record.
@JakeLFischer tells @BGeltzNBA and @SamMitchellNBA why he thinks some big roster changes could be on the way in Boston. https://t.co/uY2usjgT7K
Can the Boston Celtics keep the Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum duo and still make it work?
The Boston Celtics haven't had much roster improvement in recent years. Other than the change in the coaching staff and front office, the squad is still heavily reliant on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Tatum is developing into a superstar and the face of a major NBA franchise, but Brown has been in and out of the lineup a lot lately.
Jayson Tatum on his relationship with Jaylen Brown https://t.co/RbLclWFgvb
They have consistently made the playoffs and, because of that, haven't had a high draft pick. The Boston Celtics annually get bottom-of-the-table picks that don't develop into reliable assets and so they are handcuffed into this situation.
Robert Williams III has been named an exception, though. Many are asking the question of whether the team should enter a rebuild or keep their course, which might lead to another year of mediocrity.
Bleacher Report's Jake L. Fischer continued on SiriusXM NBA Radio and spoke about the problems facing the Boston Celtics. He said:
"I would say the early returns so far from what I’ve heard from around the league, there is not much interest in this former first-round picks that Boston has...From Payton Pritchard to Romeo Langford to Grant Williams. I think Aaron Nesmith probably has the highest value of that group."
Fischer went on to add:
"It’s difficult. That’s kind of why they’re in the situation that they’re in right now. They had draft pick after draft pick after draft pick, that hasn’t netted them anything more than back-of-the-rotation type players. They haven’t really developed anybody outside of that besides Robert Williams, and they are where they are."
The Boston Celtics have to make strong decisions before the NBA trade deadline in February or hope for a major change next year. They are the 10th seed right now, heading for another play-in tournament if they don't turn things around.