The Celtics have made their choice, and it comes down to Jayson Tatum.
Boston shortened its title window by moving on from Jaylen Brown for Paul George, or at least that’s how it looks right now. The money saved by not extending Brown could still be used elsewhere, and the 2028 first-round pick from the Los Angeles Clippers could wind up mattering too. But the bigger point is clear: the Celtics decided the best way forward was to put Tatum first.
That means betting on the player who is already 28 and firmly in his prime. Boston wasn’t going to keep winning with the Jays together forever, and the front office chose to cut that chapter short now rather than lock itself into Brown long term and try to deal with him later. That was always going to be a tougher path, especially after what had already been reported about his trade value before he signed another deal worth about $50 million per year.
The Celtics are not boxing Tatum in. They’re giving him the keys.
And that matters, because if Boston is going to win another championship, it’s going to happen because of what Tatum does. What he is now is probably close to what he’ll be for the next few seasons, which is exactly why the Celtics are acting with urgency instead of waiting around.
There’s also a real basketball case for what this does to the offense. The 1A-1B setup is gone in Boston.
Now it’s just one guy at the top, and that guy is Tatum. The system is built around his game, his gravity, and the way he can bend defenses.
Without Brown stopping possessions and putting the ball on the floor as much, the Celtics should be cleaner and more efficient.
That doesn’t mean everyone has to love the move. It’s easy to understand the frustration around Brown being sent to Philadelphia and teaming up with LeBron James. It’s also fair to worry about the way this lowers Boston’s immediate floor and puts a lot on a 36-year-old George to stay healthy for a long playoff run.
Still, the upside for Tatum is obvious. For the first time in his NBA career, he gets to be the clear-cut guy. Whether he says it out loud or not, this is his team now.
Brown had his moments in Boston, and last season he showed he could carry a heavier load. He helped the Celtics to the No. 2 seed when plenty of people expected a Play-In team at best, and he finished sixth in MVP voting. But Tatum is the more gifted player, has the higher ceiling, and lifts the people around him in a way Brown never could.
Boston wants to get back to the level it reached in 2024. The Celtics clearly believed that wasn’t going to happen unless they split up the Jays.
So they picked Tatum, built around him, and committed to seeing how far that can take them. Right now, it’s hard to argue with the logic.
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