With the Celtics facing an uphill battle to come back in their series with the Bucks, focus naturally turns to their future and, specifically, which young players will be the centerpieces of that future?
Second-year forward Jayson Tatum and third-year swingman Jaylen Brown are Boston's most tradeable young players. Through the end of the regular season and into the playoffs, Brown's stock appears to be rising while Tatum's is dropping.
It's a theory confirmed in a survey of NBA general managers and assistant coaches from the East and West who were polled by Sean Deveny of the Sporting News.
Deveny's informal survey found a wide range of opinions on Tatum and Brown, with Tatum still getting the edge from most, but one GM telling him, "Between Jaylen and Jayson, it's probably closer than you'd think."
Brown has upped his game while his team has struggled in their second-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks. He's averaged 17.3 points and 5.5 rebounds and shot 49 percent and 38 percent on 3-pointers in the first four games.
Tatum has gone in the other direction, with his scoring average dipping from 15.7 in the regular season to 11.5 points in this series. He is shooting 37.8 percent and a paltry 7.7 percent (1-for-13) from 3.
Boston Celtics
Said one GM to Deveny: "Here's the thing: You can build a team around Jayson Tatum. He can be your No. 1 option. I really believe that. He can create for himself. He can get to his spots. He has a beautiful shot. But I don't know if you can win with Jayson Tatum as your No. 1 guy. So if you're rebuilding, you know, you have to think about that."
One Eastern Conference assistant would like to see Tatum attack the rim and cut back on midrange shots. Why?
"It's that he terrible at them," he told the Sporting News.
Said another GM of Tatum: "He's still one of the top three or four guys in his age group. He just needs to get back on track. Jaylen Brown is a very good role player. Tatum has star ability."
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