The Detroit Pistons aren't backing down from Jalen Duren's demands this summer. It's actually pretty impressive that both sides are still at it with one another this late in the offseason, with training camp around the corner. While this isn't the Boston Celtics' problem (though it could be), this is what they wanted to avoid with Jaylen Brown.
For the record, Brown didn't have an attitude problem in Boston, but once he became extension-eligible, there would have been a big elephant in the room when the Celtics decided they weren't going to pay him.
No one's saying this would have happened had they kept him, but the Celtics risked a potential internal firestorm if it became clear they weren't planning to give Brown the mammoth extension he would have wanted. Hence, they got ahead of the situation and traded him before his value worsened.
It's why this was one of the most shocking and heartbreaking trades in Celtics history. They had time to think about what they could have done with Brown, but instead decided to pull the plug because they did not want to deal with what the Pistons have been dealing with from Duren.
In fact, it could have been worse if Brown made it clear he wasn't budging and Boston didn't know what to do next.
Boston avoided a problem before it became one
No one is trying to bash Brown, but paying him that much money would not only have messed with their cap flexibility (something that's become more important than ever in the modern NBA), but almost meant investing in something that was no longer proven to be working.
As much as Boston saw fantastic results from the Jays era, they were coming off two consecutive humiliating playoff defeats against teams they should have beaten. It would have been difficult to bring the better times back if the team was extremely limited in what they could surround them with.
It sucks to have to say all of this about Brown, who definitely made himself a Celtics legend, but this is just the harsh reality of how the NBA works now. Detroit is dealing with something similar with Duren and now they're stuck between a rock and hard place with the All-Star center.
As much as I hate tearing down Brown like this, Brad Stevens made the right call avoiding this kind of situation by trading Brown when he had the chance to. Not because of anything wrong with Brown as a player, but the price it would have cost to keep him around.
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