LeBron James' history of teaming up with Boston Celtics alumni is, well, mixed. Sometimes it's worked, and some it hasn't. He won championships with Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo, but didn't have such luck with the likes of Marcus Smart, Dennis Schroder, or even Eddie House if you really want to go all the way back.
In light of LeBron joining forces with Jaylen Brown in Philadelphia, it's worth mentioning the mixed results he's had with Celtics alumni over the years. There may not have been a bigger disaster on that front than the time he teamed up with Isaiah Thomas in Cleveland.
Oh yeah, for how badly the Kyrie Irving trade backfired for the Celtics, it's not like the Cavaliers truly reaped the rewards from it. In a trade in which Cleveland was trying to have its cake and eat it (build for both the future and now), Thomas was a disaster for them.
The Cavaliers weren't bad but they were constantly making headlines for how much of a mess they were after the Irving trade, a lot of it stemming from that Thomas and James didn't know how to play together. It got so bad that Cleveland basically dumped him on the Lakers just to get their hands on Jordan Clarkson.
Just the previous year, IT had just come off an MVP campaign that pretty much sealed his legacy as a Celtic. Pairing him with James seemed like a favor at first, but it was a disaster. Even if the Cavaliers were still a playoff team.
History likely won't repeat itself, but...
The notion of Brown being a Trojan Horse in Philadelphia was brought up earlier this year. Brown is different now than Thomas was back then. The problem with IT was that he had a torn labrum that needed to be repaired, and once it was, he never got his form back completely.
Brown doesn't have the same limitations, but like Thomas did in Cleveland in 2017, his role will be drastically different with Philadelphia. The 76ers will not be counting on him the same way the Celtics did last year. Brown is a guy who need the ball in his hands to be the most effective player possible, and now he's surrounded by a bunch of players who also need the ball in their hands for the exact same reason.
It's easy to see why Brown's talent could make him stand out with the Sixers, but it's also plausible that how he thrives could prove to be a bit of a clunky fit on that roster. It's not that Philadelphia's reasoning for acquriing him isn't sound. It's that there's definitely a possibility that Brown might not be the best fit next to LeBron.
Because the situation has played out terribly before, never say never.
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