Celtics President Brad Stevens 'Opens Up' About Tatum & Brown

 

Brad Stevens' first year as President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics has been chaotic. To say the least. The team has struggled all season, and questions have been floated all year about whether the team's two stars, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, can co-exist. 

But according to Stevens, in an interview with The Athletic's Jay King, he's not looking to break up the dynamic duo anytime soon. "At the end of the day, I think they’re by far the least of my concerns... Those two guys make a lot of sense to build around," said Stevens. 

He added that when a team struggles, it's natural that the best players are the ones that are going to take the heat. 

I’ve talked about this a ton, they are 23 and 25 and they are carrying new burdens. The burdens that really began last year and just continue to increase and that you just have to get used to as the best players in the building. So if you look at it kind of in totality of what those guys have done in their first five years and six years in the NBA, I think that there’s a reason to just take a step back and just remember how unique and good they are, and continue to try to find our best way as a group to help complement them. 

Tatum and Brown combined for 50 points and 16 rebounds in an MLK Day win over the New Orleans Pelicans, putting the Celtics one game over .500. 

The 23-yar-old Tatum is averaging 25.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 3.8 assists, while the 25-year-old Brown has marks of 24.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3 assists. 

Assuming we can take Stevens at his word, his next job is to find the right complementary pieces to "build around" his star pairing. 

Photo Credit:  Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports