Boston Celtics: Gary Tanguay says he’d trade Jaylen Brown over Robert Williams

Hyperbole is something that increases by scale to market size. It’s why you hear ridiculous things come out about the New York Knicks on an almost daily basis, and it’s why the spotlight shines brighter on LeBron James in Los Angeles than any other franchise in the league. As the ninth biggest market in the NBA with the most championships in league history, the Boston Celtics are not immune to this phenomena by any stretch.

Today, one of the more outlandish things was said about the C’s first-time All-Star and clear #2 guy in the pecking order (for now and for the foreseeable future), Jaylen Brown.

According to New England Sports Radio station WEEI’s Gary Tanguay, the Boston Celtics would be better off dealing away the 24-year-old, 24 point-per-game scorer in the midst of a career-year than thinking about parting ways with backup center Robert Williams.

Per Tanguay’s official Twitter page:

While Williams is on a hot stretch right now, scoring in double figures in four of his last six contests, in no universe would Boston be better off dealing Brown before trading away the “Time Lord”.

Brown has established himself as a potential Dwyane Wade to Jayson Tatum’s LeBron James, or as the Scottie Pippen to Tatum’s Michael Jordan. Of course, what defined those duos were the titles each tandem won (James/Wade’s Heat had 2, MJ’s Bulls with 6), but Boston’s best chance of replicating that success is building around the duo…not building around Robert Williams.

Don’t get us wrong, Williams is a Houdini favorite and long has been. That said, he missed 50 games his first season and 43 in 2019-20. If his per-36 minutes’ stats could be replicated in extended minutes, then the conversation of considering him more untouchable than the second-longest tenured player on the roster who just made his first All-Star team could be had.

Until then, Hardwood Houdini will continue to be 100x likelier to include Williams in a mock trade than we ever would the man whose contributions go far beyond his elite play on the basketball court.