βBrand New Dayβ but no new love interest
βBrand New Dayβ but no new friends
βBrand New Dayβ but no new (major) villain
βBrand New Dayβ but half the movie is flashbacks
So Boston has to gut the 2024 championship run team, but the moment it looks like itβll affect the Thunder and Spurs the NBPA decides itβs time for change?
I Deadass thought we had a generational duo going. Thought theyβd play like 13 years together and 3 rings. Itβs a tough game but ultimately one of the better duos in NBA history and maybe the best of their era. Won a whole lotta game and a championship. Great run
I know this isnβt the return everyone wanted for Jaylen, but I donβt think Boston got worse.
For this season, PG gives you a lot of the same value while fitting what this team already is a little cleaner. Better spacing, quicker decisions, more connective passing, less on-ball overlap with Tatum, and he can still create when you need him to. I think that skillset scales better around your offensive engine than Jaylenβs did.
The reality is Jaylenβs trade value had already gone down the drain. Whether people want to admit it or not, once it became obvious the relationship wasnβt getting repaired and another 2-year/$140M extension was looming, you lost leverage. Every day you got closer to that extension date, his value was only going to keep dropping because teams knew Boston either had to pay him again or move him.
The alternative was bringing him back into the exact same environment, knowing you werenβt extending him and knowing his value was only getting worse. Iβd much rather cash out now than watch that situation drag on another year.
Then you add in two Philadelphia firsts, which are legitimate assets. Whether Brad keeps them or flips them in another deal, thatβs flexibility you didnβt have before.
Would I have liked a younger centerpiece? Of course, this wasnβt an ideal pivot, but a fine one at that. But I donβt think this is some franchise altering loss. Boston stays at essentially the same level today, gets a cleaner fit around Tatum, avoids another massive long-term commitment, and picks up two firsts that can help facilitate the next move, you also get an expiring contract with Paul George in 2027.
This move was never going to put us over the hump, but now we donβt lose a competitive step, and have more ammo to possibly buy, frankly a lot of questions will be answered by what Brad decides to do next.
Can I just say, and no one will believe me or care:
I LOVED when Danny drafted Jaylen.
He squeezed every bit out of the player he could be.
Cβs donβt win in 2024 without him.
Itβs been a wild and bumpy ride, and even if I support it ending, Iβm grateful for what he gave.
The Celtics Tax is about to be on full display. Itβs wild how the narrative around Jaylen Brown is going to shift now that heβs not wearing green. Make no mistake, heβs earned all the praise heβs about to get he just shouldβve been getting it all along. The media and the league have always treated Boston differently, and the sudden change in energy is going to prove it.