The Boston Celtics‘ path back to the top of the Eastern Conference just got a little bit harder. The East underwent a power shift on Friday, July 24, as LeBron James opted to join the Philadelphia 76ers.
Unfortunately for Celtics fans, it would appear Boston had an unknowing hand in coaxing LeBron back to the East Coast. When appearing on SportsCenter following LeBron’s free agency decision, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Boston’s decision to trade Jaylen Brown to the Sixers is what put Philadelphia on LeBron’s radar in the first place.
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Brown’s trade to the Sixers has been a talking point for Celtics fans in recent weeks. Brad Stevens made the decision to part with the All-Star forward earlier this summer, having reportedly offered him in a package to try and acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks.
Now, Brown is part of the NBA’s latest superteam, and all eyes will be on how he fits next to a group of high-usage, ball-dominant stars.
Celtics Valued Jayson Tatum Over Brown
According to Brian Windhorst, who was speaking on a recent episode of the “Shump Street Podcast,” Boston’s actions this summer proved that they believe Tatum provides more on-court value than Brown.
“In this season, we just had Tatum and Brown make about the same amount of money,” Windhorst said. “You look at each of their net rating, which is the effect of the score when they’re on the court. Tatum’s was about roughly double Brown’s…Their actions are going to tell you how they think, and their actions were— they’re keeping Tatum, and they’re trading. They seem to believe that Tatum has more ‘quote unquote’ value.”
Tatum has been the Celtics’ clear-cut best player for multiple years. However, the Celtics’ biggest strength during that time has been their All-Star wing duo. It will be interesting to see how Tatum navigates being the focal point of Boston’s rebuild in the coming months.
Celtics Got Paul George In Return For Brown
One of the more controversial aspects of Boston trading Brown to the 76ers was the fact that Paul George is the player Brad Stevens got back. However, according to analytics guru Dean Oliver, George’s contributions won’t cause much of a drop-off compared to what Brown provides.
“They got a player in Paul George who is probably going to play 70% of the minutes that Brown has played, at least that’s what I think the average was over the last few years,” Oliver said, via the Celtics Daily podcast. “And by the metrics, he contributes as much on a per-minute basis as Brown. There’s a question about his age. Of course, it’s fair…I think the Sixers are a little bit ahead of the Celtics. But if you look at the expected wins coming out of Vegas. I think the Celtics are projected at 51 or 52, and I think the Sixers are at 48.”
Nevertheless, finding out that Brown’s trade to Philadelphia also led to LeBron joining the franchise is a tough pill to swallow. The Celtics will now have another threat to contend with in the East.
Unfortunately, that threat is one of their most fierce rivals.
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