The Boston Celtics are stuck in neutral, consistently hovering around .500 for most of the 2021-22 NBA season and unable to reach a new gear to begin climbing the Eastern Conference standings.
The mediocrity dates back to last season, in fact, making it all the more troublesome that the C's haven't shown much progress under first-year head coach Ime Udoka.
Obviously, something needs to change. But Jalen Rose isn't convinced that breaking up the duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown would be in Boston's best interest.
"You might look at the Eastern Conference standings and be like, 'Wait a minute. We have Tatum and Brown and (Marcus) Smart, and we're not one of the best three or four teams in our conference? Maybe we should make a move,' " Rose said this week on ESPN. "Let me tell you something: Do not break up Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. By no means.
"If you're watching the trends of NBA games, you need those 6-6 to, like, 6-9 players that can play multiple positions, that can dribble, pass and shoot, that can shoot the 3. And Jaylen Brown can guard multiple positions with the best of them in the game. They're both really good athletes, and they're both young. So you build around them. You don't break them up."
Indeed, Boston's best move might be to ultimately add a third star to the Tatum-Brown pairing. The problem is that's easier said than done, as the Celtics no longer have an abundance of appealing assets with which to wheel and deal. Brad Stevens, in his first year as the team's president of basketball operations after replacing Danny Ainge, would need to get creative.
Still, trading away either Tatum or Brown -- the latter seemingly a more likely trade candidate -- probably is the last-case scenario as the Celtics look to make headway and rebound from their prolonged slump. While Tatum and Brown haven't always meshed on the court, each player's talent is undeniable. And, as Rose noted, they're still young, leaving the door open for some untapped potential.
The question becomes: How much patience do the Celtics have?
