Tag: Brad Stevens

Why did the Celtics dump Jaylen Brown for pretty much nothing?

Jaylen Brown in Jakarta, Indonesia. 2018 public domain photo by State Dept. / Budi Sudarmo.

I usually reserve my semi-informed sports musings for Facebook. But that Celtics trade, with Jaylen Brown going to the 76ers for a few draft picks and a 36-year-old guy who’s hurt all the time, is just mind-boggling. How did we get from “We’ll trade Brown reluctantly if it gives us a chance to win a championship” to “We must dump Brown at any cost”?

The best-case scenario is that Brad Stevens is clearing the decks for a blockbuster move. The worst-case scenario? New owner Bill Chisholm comes from the world of private equity, and the one thing these guys know how to do is strip their businesses of assets before selling them off and moving on.

Sports journalist Howard Bryant put it this way on Threads: “Are the Celtics entering the John Y. Brown era of ownership?”

Stevens has proved to be bold and creative in recent years, so he deserves some time to show us what’s next. But if that’s all there is, the Celtics just gave away their second-best player, who also happens to be an interesting person and a leader in the Black community, for — nothing.

On second thought. Less than two weeks ago, the Celtics were willing to trade Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo. It didn’t work out because of other players and draft picks, but you can’t say it would have been a contract dump. So I guess we should be willing to wait and see what Stevens might have up his sleeve.

A disappointing end for the Celtics — and a tough road ahead

Photo (cc) 2013 by Michael Tipton

What a disappointing end for the Celtics. I’m no basketball expert, but it does seem that their biggest problem is they’re a finesse team built for the regular season, and when the playoffs roll around they get out-muscled.

They need to build a team that’s much more physical, able to rebound in traffic and force the other team to pay a higher price when they drive to the basket. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are plenty physical enough, but the rest of them aren’t.

By most accounts, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday won’t be back. It would be good if they could be replaced with bigger, stronger players, even if they’re not as talented. That said, they’re not going anywhere without Tatum next year, so Brad Stevens will probably sit back for a year and reassess. The owners are going to want to save money on a team that can’t compete for a championship.

Although I didn’t hear too much talk that the Celtics play better without Tatum, I did hear a little of it. If you were among them, what do you think now? He makes everyone better, and even when his shot isn’t falling he’s a rebounding and assists machine.

Should Joe Mazzulla stay? I’m guessing yes. I trust Brad to make the right call, but it seems significant that we haven’t heard one word of criticism about him from the players. Of course, we’d all like to see him develop a Plan B for when the threes aren’t falling, but that brings me back to their lack of physicality.