Brad Stevens that when he assembled the core that would go to bring the Boston Celtics their 18th championship as a franchise, he only had a two-year window to keep them that way, as the amount he was paying for the roster was inevitably going to put them in tax apron hell.
Luckily, Stevens managed to get them out without sacrificing any first-round draft capital. At the same time, he basically had to give away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis for pennies on the dollar while also letting Al Horford and Luke Kornet walk that summer. And now, he and the Celtics get to watch the New York Knicks face the exact same conundrum.
Make no mistake that the Knicks were very impressive in their dominant playoff run last year, but unfortunately, keeping title teams together are tougher than ever. New York knew this when they let Mitchell Robinson jump ship to Boston. Well, it appears, the damage hasn't stopped there, as they also have to discuss the long-term future of some of their other players.
It turns out Karl-Anthony Towns won't be so easy to keep after all, and you can understand both sides on this one. KAT had an awesome season, as him reaching a new level vaulted the Knicks to the title. At the same time, paying a player over $60 million isn't such an easy decision to make because of the long-term ramifications.
It's proof of why Boston traded Jaylen Brown
The Celtics traded Brown because he was going to be too expensive and the formula with Jayson Tatum simply wasn't working anymore. Because it wasn't getting them results and how much they would have to pay the two of them would have gotten in the way of who else they wanted to bring in, they had to make the tough decision to part ways with a Celtics legend after his peak season.
Because paying someone like Brown, an exceptional basketball player but not someone who should be making $70 million, was likely to do more bad than good, the best decision was to trade him. The Knicks facing a similar conundrum with Towns should make Boston feel better about the decision because it's conclusive proof that they were ahead of the curve.
For what it's worth, Boston and New York are simply trying to play the unfair game they were handed. It's why while the Knicks are scrambling to try to keep this championship core together, the Celtics are signing their guys to team-friendly deals.
It's odd to say because they are historic rivals, but at times like these, the Celtics and Knicks are kindred spirits.
Add us as a preferred source on Google