After nine seasons together, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s partnership with the Boston Celtics came to an end last week when the C’s traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. The move didn’t necessarily come as a surprise to the general public after Brown’s name had been strongly featured in trade rumors for weeks prior but sending him to a divisional rival, and for a return widely viewed as extremely underwhelming, was a shock.
The ripple effects of the decision will be many and significant. But in the immediate, nobody in Boston will feel the weight of the move quite like Tatum. The Celtics are betting big that he’ll be back to his old self in his first full season post-Achilles tear; without that confidence they wouldn’t have moved his co-star for the purpose of “optionality” as Brad Stevens put it. He’ll shoulder more responsibility than ever next season and how he holds up will play a big part in how the Brown trade is perceived years down the road—not to mention Boston’s championship chances over the next few seasons.
