Ever since the Celtics blew a 2-1 lead to the Warriors in the 2022 NBA Finals, Kendrick Perkins has been overly critical of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and their ability to complete the mission of raising Banner No. 18.
The criticism only got louder after the 2023 NBA Playoffs when the Celtics lost in the Eastern Conference Finals to the lower-seeded Heat.
After the J’s lifted the Larry O’Brien Trophy on June 17, Perkins took it upon himself to issue an apology to Tatum and Brown. Perkins also apologized to Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla for previously questioning Mazzulla’s playbook — which involves attempting and making three-pointers at a historic rate.
“I didn’t believe they could get it done with Joe style of play. I thought that Tatum and Brown couldn’t do it together,” Perkins wrote on X. “They proved me wrong and 16 years later after I help deliver Banner 17 this @celtics team just completed the mission in dominating fashion to bring Banner 18 to the City of Boston. Much Credit to Brad Stevens for putting this all together Carry the hell on…Carry the hell on…”
Others Also Called for Celtics to Breakup The J’s
Perkins wasn’t the only analyst who previously urged the Celtics to trade either Brown or Tatum, arguing that the combination of wing players — with similar skill sets — wasn’t the ideal recipe to win a championship.
In June 2023, Shaquille O’Neal argued that the Celtics were better off trading Brown for lesser-known players rather than keeping two co-stars on max-level contracts.
“I don’t want five stars on my team,” O’Neal said on “The Big Podcast. “I want a guy that I can go to every night, I want a guy that’s going to lead, and I want three dogs, three others. I would prefer (it) if they were specialists. One to be a shooter, one to be a rebounder, and one to be a fighter. I would, business-wise, break them up and use one of them to get the pieces I want. I will say Tatum is the number one; use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player, and then just do it like that.”
Others such as FS1 analyst Emmanuel Acho also urged the Celtics to take the drastic step of splitting up Brown and Tatum.
Celtics Won With Ace Front Office Moves
The decision to not succumb to the media peer pressure paid dividends for the Celtics in 2024 in the form of an NBA Championship.
A lot of the credit for the title victory has, rightfully so, gone to the franchise’s front-office head Brad Stevens, who took over from Danny Ainge ahead of the 2021-22 season. Since trading the coaching seat for the front-office position, Stevens has made calculated moves to get the Celtics closer to the goal of Banner No. 18.
The final two pieces of the puzzle fell into place ahead of the 2023-24 season when Stevens pulled off trades for Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, both of whom played critical roles in bringing Boston its 18th NBA Championship.
Even Lakers legend Magic Johnson credited Stevens’ front-office decisions on June 18.
“Celtics GM Brad Stevens trading for Jru Holiday and Kristaps Prozingis was an MVP move that made the Celtics the best team in basketball this year! Adding Holiday made them the perimeter defending team in the league, and adding Prozingis made them the most explosive offensive and best starting 5 in basketball this year!”
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