Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were both drafted by the Boston Celtics, and both have shown immense growth during their time in the NBA. The two All-Stars have grown year after year, managing to lead the Celtics to within 2 wins of an NBA championship in the 2021-22 season but eventually falling just short of the mark.
Ideally, the two would have a few more opportunities to finally get there, but Kevin Durant’s availability seems to have changed all that. The superstar requested a trade from the Nets, and this led to a reported offer from the Celtics involving Brown as a part of the package.
While opinion is split on whether the Celtics should make a trade of this nature, NBA analyst Mike Greenberg shared his opinion on why they shouldn’t do it. He compared the Tatum-Brown team to the Bad Boy Pistons and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls to make his point.
“There’s something about Tatum and Brown I love, and that is that this feels like the way the sport always used to be. They drafted two really good young players and we watched them go through their struggles in the same way that we watched Isiah Thomas and all those Pistons unable to get through the Larry Bird Celtics.
“Couldn’t do it, couldn’t do it, couldn’t do it. Finally beat him and went on and win championships.
“Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, those Bulls teams couldn’t beat the Pistons. Couldn’t do it, couldn’t do it couldn’t do it. Finally broke through beat and became the champs. Then we got into an era where players are just going from here to there.”
While those teams cemented themselves as legends during their time, it’s hard to tell if Tatum and Brown would be able to do the same given the opportunity. It’s certainly a tough decision to make for the Celtics, but NBA history has proven that allowing young stars to grow together can often lead to multiple championships.
