The Celtics front office had a busy couple of weeks. Not just because they were fielding offers for Jaylen Brown. Turns out, teams were also checking in on Jayson Tatum.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Wednesday that multiple franchises called Boston about Tatum over the last two weeks. The response was quick. No. Not interested. Not listening. According to Charania, the Celtics shut those conversations down completely.
Brown was a different story. Boston was willing to hear what other teams had to offer. And eventually they took a deal from the Philadelphia 76ers that left a lot of people scratching their heads.
The return that raised eyebrows
Philadelphia sent Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-rounders to Boston. The first-round picks are for 2028 and 2031. The seconds are for 2028 and 2030. For a five-time All-Star who just put up an MVP-caliber season, that package felt light to many around the league.
Brown averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists this year. He shot 47.7 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three. He played 71 games at over 34 minutes a night. And he did all that while Tatum was still working his way back from an Achilles injury.
The Celtics also lost several key pieces from their 2024 title run — Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet all departed. Brown basically carried the team to a top-three seed in the East. So trading him for an aging Paul George and a handful of picks felt like a gamble.
Why Tatum was never really available
Boston was never going to move Tatum. He is the face of the franchise. That part was obvious. But the fact that teams even bothered calling says something about how other front offices view the Celtics’ roster situation. They smelled blood maybe. Or maybe they just figured it was worth a shot.
Charania noted that Boston has been open to listening on Brown for a while now. So this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision. The Celtics had been weighing their options for some time before pulling the trigger with Philadelphia.
What comes next for Boston is unclear. Tatum is still there. But the supporting cast looks very different now. George is 35 and has injury history. The picks are years away. The Celtics are betting that Tatum plus George can keep them competitive, but the ceiling might be lower than it was with Brown.
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