With the sting of the Boston Celtics’ loss in the NBA’s 2023 East finals to the Miami Heat having subsided in most corners, the appetite for rash, large-scale moves with the Celtics’ roster seems to have also drawn down from fans and analysts alike.
There are some who believe the league’s new collective bargaining agreement should have Boston considering making a massive move on the trade market to get ahead of the pinch the CBA will deliver to the Celtics’ team-building capabilities soon enough.
Count former Boston big man Shaquille O’Neal among them. He sees a split of star wings Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum as desirable for the Celtics given their new cap reality.
“I don’t want five stars on my team,” shared Shaq on a recent episode of the “The Big Three” podcast (h/t/ Yard Barker’s Ashish Mathur).
“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,” he added. “I would prefer if they were specialists: one to be a shooter, one to be a rebounder and one to be a fighter.”
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How the new CBA will impact Boston's offseason, Jaylen Brown's extension, and more w/ capologist@YossiGozlan
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The path to getting such a roster for the LSU alum? “I would, business-wise, break (Jayson Tatum and Brown) up and use one of them to get the pieces I want.”
“I will say Tatum is the No. 1, use Brown to bring in a Brown-type player, and then just do it like that,” he added. Given the Celtics have a Brown-like player on their roster already named. … Jaylen, we’re entirely out on such a scenario save the former Cal standout himself asking out of the team.
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