It’s always enticing when the idea of two or three NBA superstars teaming up gets tossed around. But more often than not, it’s either unrealistic, nearly impossible, or highly improbable. Prior to the Celtics signing Jaylen Brown to a record five-year, $304 million contract extension, they could have been a potential landing spot for Damian Lillard.
But after Brown’s new contract? The outlook on a possible Lillard trade went from very unlikely to almost impossible. After signing the extension, Boston can’t trade Brown for a full year, and as John Karalis of the Boston Sports Journal suggested, he believes Celtics president Brad Stevens is “secretly happy” that Jayson Tatum reaching out to Damian Lillard didn’t result in anything.
I bet Brad Stevens is secretly happy that Jayson Tatum’s recruitment of Damian Lillard didn’t work. How the hell was he going to match a $45 million salary with anything better than Miami without including Jaylen Brown?
I can see Brad pulling Tatum into his office and politely asking to be made aware of any future recruitment plans that might put him on the spot.
It’s a fair take, especially when considering that the things could have become a bit messy had Lillard hypothetically shown newly found interest in the Celtics. Attempting to make that trade work without Tatum or Brown would have become a massive headache to sort out — if it’s even possible.
