Scal: C's ‘owe It To Tatum' To Figure Out Next ‘championship-level' Move

Scal: C's ‘owe it to Tatum' to figure out next ‘championship-level' move originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

As Jaylen Brown put it in his farewell to Boston, “As one chapter closes, another begins.”

The Boston Celtics will move on to their next chapter without Brown, a franchise cornerstone for the last 10 years. On Wednesday, they traded the 2024 NBA Finals MVP to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George, two first-round draft picks, and two second-rounders.

The stunning move hasn’t sat well with C’s fans, who question the meager return and the willingness to send Brown to an Eastern Conference rival — especially one that ousted Boston in the first round of this year’s playoffs. Even Brian Scalabrine, a former Celtic and longtime play-by-play broadcaster for the team, had his gripes with the deal.

“It’s weird with Brad because he has used this line quite a bit, and it really brought comfort to me, which is, ‘We know what our North Star is in Boston. In Boston, it’s a championship.’ But this is not a North Star move, unless there’s something up their sleeve later on down the road,” Scalabrine said on Thursday’s Early Edition.

That take has been the consensus among Celtics fans. George is a significant downgrade, especially at 36 years old, and he’s set to make $57.7 million next season with a $56.6 million player option for 2027-28. In no way does this trade make Boston a better team on paper in the short term.

That said, Scal still believes the C’s will at least be as competitive as they were last season, when Brown propelled them to a 56-26 record and the second seed in the East despite Tatum missing most of the campaign with an Achilles injury.

“Paul George is on our team this year, and in a weird way, I actually think the team is gonna be just as good as they were last year,” he said. “You’re slipping in Tatum instead of Brown. All the young guys, it’s not like they’re gonna stay stagnant. In Boston, everybody gets better.

“You add Mitchell Robinson, Paul George is gonna float around and knock down 3s. But we all can come to the realization that we are not a championship-level team, so what is the next championship-level move?”

Even if the Celtics are among the best in the East next season, they’re still likely a piece or two away from contending with the NBA’s elite. Scalabrine wants the C’s to do right by Jayson Tatum and maximize the team’s potential to win another title under his leadership.

“I don’t know if you owe it to the fans, but you definitely owe it to Jayson Tatum, who’s now in the second part of his career after the Achilles injury,” Scal said. “So what are you gonna do for this guy so he could be a legendary Celtic?

“I know Paul George is not the overall answer, but what is the answer so we can get back on top? Because I look at Oklahoma City, I look at San Antonio, that looks 100 miles away. It doesn’t look like we’re just right there.”

Watch the full Early Edition below: