We're about a quarter of the way through the 2021-22 campaign, and with the Boston Celtics losing each of their last three games during a Western Conference road trip, there's certainly cause for concern building.
Boston's roster clearly has holes while the absence of Jaylen Brown has proven just how reliant the Celtics are on their stars, including Jayson Tatum. But with the Celtics falling back below .500 with more questions than answers, it prompted one NBA writer to share how he thinks this is the "beginning of the end" of the Brown-Tatum era.
"There is not much interest in those former first-round picks that Boston has," Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer said referencing Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford and Grant Williams on SirusXM NBA radio.
"That's kind of why they're in the situation they're in right now. They have draft pick after draft pick after draft pick that hasn't netted them anything more than back-of-the-rotation type players. And they haven't really developed anybody outside of that besides Robert Williams, and they are where they are."
"I think this is definitely the beginning of the end of the Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown pairing," Fischer continued. "I don't know if that will get broken up this season, but I think sometime in the next 12 to 18 months we're really going to start to hear conversations about the future of Boston with Jaylen Brown heading out the door."
Brown, for what it's worth, is under contract through the 2023-24 season.
It's rather likely the Celtics make moves with the hopes to improve in the short term, but based on how president of basketball operations Brad Stevens and head coach Ime Udoka publicly talk about Tatum and Brown, it's unlikely one of their core All-Stars are put on the trade block.
... Well, for now at least.
