Celtics send clear message over Jayson Tatum trade rumors

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The Boston Celtics absolutely shocked everyone last week by trading Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and some draft picks. It all started after Boston totally choked in the first round against Philly. They were up 3-1 in the series but blew it because Brown struggled, shooting just 28-for-67 over those last three losses.

While that postseason exit set the trade machine in motion, teams around the league started calling Boston to see if they could get Jayson Tatum, too. But according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Boston shut down that door immediately.

"Over the last three, four weeks while this Jaylen Brown stuff was going on, teams were calling the Celtics on Jayson Tatum," Charania said. "Their answer was hard stop, 'No, we're not trading Jayson Tatum. He's untouchable. He's not on the table.'"

Charania highlighted the stark contrast in Boston's organizational approach, adding, "Jaylen Brown, different story - open for business, ready to trade him, give us your best offer. So that's the dichotomy of both of those situations."

Teams were trying to trade for Tatum even though he was still recovering from that torn Achilles. Remember, he only made it back for the final stretch of the regular season and that short playoff run.

Critics could definitely tell he was rusty as he averaged 21.8 points on 41.1% shooting in the regular season, which is way below his normal numbers. But he found his groove in the playoffs, bumping things up to 23.3 points on 47.5% shooting.

Honestly, the Celtics' logic makes sense from every angle. He is only 28 and locked into his massive five-year, $314 million supermax deal. With no Brown on the team now, he is the clear cornerstone for whatever they build next, injury or not.

Brown was a completely different story. Reports leaked that he and Tatum didn’t fit well on the court, making him expendable. Trading a star who just won a title with years left on his contract is rare, but Boston drew the line at trading Tatum while he recovered from a major injury.

Charania made it clear that the front office never treated the two situations as comparable, regardless of how loud the Tatum rumors got.