How did the Boston Celtics nearly miss both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown?
Extending the history of one of the most traditional teams in the NBA, the young star duo Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are with the Boston Celtics regularly in the top teams in the East, competing for the championship.
Jaylen Brown recently received his first $300 million contract in league history, sticking with Tatum and the Celtics until 2029.
It's not hard to see Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are the two leading factors in the current Boston squad. But one thing few people know is that the Celtics almost didn't have any of these two young stars.
About 8 years ago when Danny Ainge was still the professional chairman of the TD Garden football team, Boston noticed Jimmy Butler (now playing very sublimely in the Chicago Bulls shirt).
Ainge recounted this story in a recent podcast with The Players' Tribune: “I wanted to sign Jimmy Butler from the Chicago Bulls, knowing he was a very talented player.
I like his fighting spirit and the way he plays, so I want to bring Jimmy back to Boston. But at that time Chicago demanded a very high price, so after considering it, I did not make the trade anymore.
The former Celtics president further explained that the Bulls then wanted at least two Boston first-round picks, which soon became Jaylen Brown (2016 pick 3) and Jayson Tatum (2017 pick 3).
By the time he was targeted by the Boston Celtics, Jimmy Butler was already an All-Star and gradually became a full-fledged defensive player. On one side, he is the top scorer of the team, at home Butler will follow the opponent's number one goal.
After parting ways with the Chicago Bulls at the end of the 2016-17 season, Butler landed in the Minnesota Timberwolves and then traded to the Philadelphia 76ers before sticking with the Miami Heat for the last four seasons.
Despite choosing his own path, Jimmy still proves himself to be one of the top stars in the league with 6 All-Star appearances, 6 All-NBA selections and 5 name-calls. on the NBA All-Defense lineup.
On the Boston Celtics side, the TD Garden team owns two of the most expensive young stars in the NBA at the moment. Both Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum reached All-Star and All-NBA levels.
The Celtics' collective record is also quite good with 3 times reaching the Eastern Finals in the last 5 seasons, including 1 year into the NBA Finals (2022, losing to the Golden State Warriors 4-2).
“It was actually an exchange that I thought about a lot. I really like Jimmy Butler and want him to play for my team. But looking back, I'm glad I didn't decide to trade," added Danny Ainge.
