By now, everyone knows that the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown because they didn’t want to move forward with two players on supermax contracts, preferring optionality going forward. But as much as it was about the two massive contracts (Brown and Jayson Tatum), it was about the huge usage on offense for each player.
Brad Stevens and the Celtics wanted to emphasize the much more efficient Tatum and redistribute Brown’s usage to other members of the team, diversifying the offense in a way that Brad believes will make for a more potent offense.
Stevens didn’t want two players with massive usage rates
If this wasn’t already clear by now, Stevens basically came out and said it in a recent interview with Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine on SiriusXM NBA Radio.
“It was a really hard decision. There were a lot of things that went into it. When you have two max players and two max usage, I would say that those are the things you have to make decisions on… Jaylen’s a great player, but I really like the team we have.”
Of course, Tatum was out for most of the year, but Brown’s usage rate was at 35.1% last season, second only to Luka Doncic among qualified players. That’s higher than Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, Stephen Curry, Cade Cunningham, Nikola Jokic, and every single other player in the NBA.
And yes, JB did a great job of making tough shots, forcing his way to the basket, and making things happen for Boston, but frankly, he just wasn’t efficient enough as a scorer or playmaker to warrant the ball being in his hands that often.
Brad believes offense will be more efficient and diverse
We kept hearing about how the stats showed that the team was better without Brown on the court, and that’s a metric that Stevens is buying. He thinks that the other players, like Tatum, Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, now Paul George, and even guys like Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, and others, can take over that usage that has been vacated by Brown and be more productive.
That’s clearly a belief that has been building within the Celtics’ front office for some time, and factoring in the supermax contract and looming extension, this became a no-brainer. The trade was about a lot of factors, but the toothpaste was out of the tube with Brown operating like a number-one offensive option last season, and that’s not something the team wanted going forward.
I’m sure there will be times when they miss Brown’s tough shot-making, highlight-reel dunks, and his ability to get to the basket, but they won’t miss him pounding the ball, turning it over with a loose handle, failing to make the easy pass, and other elements of his game that just weren’t quite up to snuff for a true alpha.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a bold and risky move, but Stevens is confident in his decision, and the more time passes, the clearer his vision for the Celtics will become.
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