What Boston Celtics must do to avoid losing Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum
It’s nowhere near time to push the panic button for the Boston Celtics, but recent developments surrounding the head coaching position certainly make it hard to have much in the way of optimism until we see the Cs prove themselves on the hardwood once more.
On one hand, Boston still has an Eastern Conference championship roster that got better with the acquisition of a 19-point-per-game scorer from a season ago. On the other, the head coach that got them there, Ime Udoka, has been suspended for the entire 2022-23 NBA calendar year due to inappropriate behavior towards a female employee in the Celtics organization.
It’ll be hard to overcome organizational dysfunction like this from the top down unless the team can sustain success on the floor. Joe Mazzulla is the man tasked with getting that done, having been named interim head coach in Udoka’s absence. Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens has given his blessing to Mazzulla to take the reins — and has also forgiven him for his past transgressions.
If Mazzulla isn’t the man for the job, though, Stevens will need to act quickly. After losing a head coach in Udoka that commanded respect from his roster, the Cs will need to find another who can do the trick. If they don’t, as WBZ News Radio host Adam Kaufman pointed out, it could cost them Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum in free agency two to three years from now:
Moreover…you had a guy Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown believed in. Now, and for the foreseeable future, you don’t. In order to best avoid Brown or eventually Tatum leaving in free agency, #Celtics need a coach who will command that same respect as Ime Udoka, well, did. https://t.co/QJ370n3lPH
— Adam Kaufman (@AdamMKaufman) September 24, 2022
Jaylen Brown is a bigger flight risk than Jayson Tatum for the Boston Celtics
While both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers — Heavy’s Sean Deveney was told by an executive that Brown could have his eyes on playing with LeBron James, while Tatum has long idolized Kobe Bryant and could soon seek a franchise with proven recent success — the Boston Celtics still remain in the driver’s seat to re-sign both.
With that said, many see Brown’s name being thrown into Kevin Durant trade rumors this past summer as something that could ultimately make him feel like his security in Boston is nonexistent the next time a top name hits the trade market.
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