With Giannis Antetokounmpo no longer an option for the Boston Celtics, now they must think about what to do next with Jaylen Brown. It doesn't sound like their attempts to swap Giannis for Brown burned the bridge, but Antetokounmpo was their easiest route to get better, as ironic as that sounds. Now, Boston is at crossroads, and it's hard to pinpoint what the best route is for them.
If they keep Jaylen Brown
It would seem like a common sense decision to keep the Jays together with all the success they have had over the years. No one should disagree with how amazing the two of them have been for almost a decade now. However, it's become clearer than ever that teams need more than a star duo to win it all.
The Celtics have learned this the hard way over the past two years. They lost two playoff series they probably should have won over the last two years, largely because their supporting cast faltered when facing their opponents.
It would be in Boston's best interest to add some game-changers they once surrounded the Jays with, like Al Horford and Jrue Holiday, but it will be hard for them to find them with the options they have. The non-taxpayers MLE should bring the Celtics a solid addition to their rotation, but the odds of them getting a Horford or a Holiday-type from it are slim to none.
Same goes for the $27.7 million Ant Simons TPE. Boston could get someone from that, but the odds of getting someone truly impactful directly from it are slimmer than getting an impactful players from the MLE.
Boston has the right foundation with Brown and Jayson Tatum, but with how much they're being paid, and how few options the Celtics have to get back into title contention, it would be pretty easy to see a repeat of last season: a dream of a regular season followed by a nightmare of a postseason.
If they trade Jaylen Brown
Brown is coming off the best season of his career, which arguably makes his trade value higher than it ever has. If Boston thinks their best route is to trade him, their goal would be to build the best team around Tatum by getting him both a dependable No. 2 like Brown along with a good supporting cast. That also is going to be a bit hard.
Especially because that's exactly what interested suitors will know right out of the gate. They would want Brown, but would they want to grant exactly what the Celtics want in the process? Boston would likely accept a downgrade from a second-in-command as long as they get a dependable one on top of better complementary pieces.
it's why trading Brown, even if that might be the better route to staying in title contention, is a little complicated because the Celtics would be trying to hit two birds with one stone, which isn't easy to do.
There has never been a task too hard for Brad Stevens to accomplish as an executive. Well, one could argue Giannis was, but evidently, Stevens thinks there are better options. We won't know if he's right or wrong until he makes his move.
There's no telling what's to come from the Celtics this offseason. What we know for sure is that there will be no easy decisions to make regarding what they think is best for Jaylen Brown.
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