Celtics wing Jaylen Brown is among the players believed to be on the Sixers‘ list of targets in a potential Ben Simmons trade, but Brown – along with Jayson Tatum – is viewed as off-limits for the time being, writes Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report.
“Talking to Boston, those are the only two untouchables,” one assistant general manager told Fischer, referring to Brown and Tatum.
Although the Celtics are currently averse to the idea of splitting up Brown and Tatum, there has been increased speculation around the NBA about the possibility, given the team’s underwhelming play this season, says Fischer. Teams are keeping an eye on Brown, in particular, in case Boston reverses course and make him available at some point in 2022, perhaps in the offseason.
“I think there’s pretty widespread belief that they don’t work together,” a general manager told Bleacher Report. “But unless ownership adds pressure on [president of basketball operations Brad Stevens], I don’t see them doing anything.”
Here’s more from around the Eastern Conference, including another Boston-related note:
- Besides Brown and Tatum, the players the Celtics value the most appear to be Marcus Smart and Robert Williams, according to Fischer. Smart, Williams, and Dennis Schröder are among the Boston players rival executives believe could be available in trades this season, Fischer adds.
- Following up on Shams Charania’s Monday report on Kevin Knox, Fischer says the Knicks would be interested in trading the fourth-year forward, but it’s unclear if he has any real value on the open market.
- Rival executives think the Hawks would be open to discussing De’Andre Hunter as part of a package for an “established impact veteran,” per Fischer. Hunter, who has been limited to 34 regular season games since the start of the 2020/21 campaign due to injuries, will become extension-eligible during the 2022 offseason
Brown and Tatum can work together… they can make it work. They just need to have the drive to win, which I don’t think they have.
Unpopular opinion but I’d rather move Tatum and get a ransom. Maybe a move with MIA? Herro and Butler would be a nice target. I’ve wanted Butler for years. His mentality would be perfect in Boston and him and Brown together would be magical.
DO NOT TRADE FOR SIMMONS.
smh… You seriously believe these guys lack the drive to win? That’s not a serious thought you had, it can’t be. We’re you around when foolish people said out loud that Jordan lacked that same drive to win or that LeBron lacked it or David Robinson or Shaq or any number of young, great basketball players that had yet to win a NBA title. It’s pretty obviously ridiculous to think that any of these guys lack the will to win smh that’s clearly a dumb thing to say out loud. Tatum just got thru winning a gold medal. These boys were literally one game away from the Finals in their very 1st together & were team leaders & the 2 best players even then as extremely young guys. Just bc a guy hasn’t won a title doesn’t mean he doesn’t want it bad enough. This isn’t rocket science
Jayson Tatum is not Jordan or Lebron
The Celtics lack a “sparkplug” off the bench in games where stuff isn’t working. IMO, that equals signing Isaiah Thomas to the squad and that fire would smooth out the missing engine!
No, Dennis Schroeder is perfect that role. They need a legitimate PG. I like Marcus Smart but he should be coming off the bench.
It’s about skill sets, not mind sets. Any two players can play together, but, in this case, even if both guys wanted to work together, and were willing to sacrifice, their talents will never be maximized playing together. For the Celts to win a championship with these two as their two best offensive players, they’d need to be extremely talented around them (either so good defensively, or so generally talented, that they can afford not to maximize both of their best offensive talents). Very unlikely.
For most of NBA history, a trade of one or the other would have occurred by now. But most modern FO’s don’t have the acumen to pull off a trade like that, or don’t believe they do, or don’t want to take the risk that they might not, or that the result will otherwise be such that they will be viewed as losing the trade. So, it will likely take a trade request, a cap/tax issue, declining performance or a rebuild, or some other non-basketball reason (aka cover), for either to be traded. Low yield trades are fine, as long as the yield is no lower than expectations.
Honestly the Celtics probably would be better even with a guy like Rubio on their team. He’s a smart player with great vision that gets the ball moving. He’s been a plus for the cavs.
The Celtics have no offense. Brown and Tatum take turns iso and then throw it to someone else if it doesn’t work. A simple addition like that would be huge IMO.
Would the Celtics entertain a Wall, Wood, Theis, 2 1sts for Brown, Horford, JRich?
They wont buyout Wall, hes still a capable PG. Wood is breaking out. Theis is a capable backup, 1 first is to take Wall, another is added because Brown is best player in this package.
That moves Smart to the bench. Deal DS for anything of value while his market is peaked.