Boston Celtics
“If I’m Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, I’m like, ‘Man, I’m going to play with another great player for 10 years.”
Charles Barkley thinks that a trade involving Jaylen Brown would be disastrous for Boston. Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery
Charles Barkley has never been one to hold back when it comes to speaking his mind.
And, the NBA Hall of Famer and popular NBA on-air personality was at a loss over the weekend when asked about the possibility of the Celtics breaking up their franchise duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown this offseason.
Trade rumors have swirled over the Celtics this offseason after a disheartening first-round exit at the hands of the 76ers, with Boston continuing to get linked to Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo as a destination that intrigues the two-time MVP.
But, in order to acquire a talent like Antetokounmpo, the Celtics would likely need to move on from an established star like Brown — likely in a three-team deal.
Brown has been the focus of several trade rumors of his own this summer, be it reports of teams like the Hawks coveting the talented wing or Tracy McGrady signaling that Brown has grown frustrated with his current standing with the Celtics.
While Brown has not made any comment regarding a trade request — and outright pushed back against McGrady’s comments on Twitch last month — that hasn’t stopped the trade whispers.
Amid all that discourse, Barkley stressed that splitting up Brown and Tatum would be an ill-advised move for Boston moving forward.
Barkley in particular harped on the ramifications of a Brown trade — especially if it’s a deal spurred on by the Celtics star wanting a clean slate or a greater role on another team.
“I think these guys are so stupid at times,” Barkley said on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “I never understand why guys don’t want to play with other great players. This notion that you have to have an A or B. When I got traded to Phoenix and played with Kevin Johnson and Dan Majerle, I was thrilled to play with two other great players. You just want to win. It’s not about the individual accolades.
“If I’m Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, I’m like, ‘Man, I’m going to play with another great player for 10 years. Maybe we win multiple championships. I don’t give a damn whose team it is.’ I just think this whole situation is, ‘What the hell you want? You want to win.’”
Despite the ascension of both the Thunder and Spurs in the West — coupled with the Knicks’ current dominance this postseason — Barkley stressed that teams like the Celtics shouldn’t make any drastic changes with their core in the coming weeks, given how hard it is to assemble rosters like this in the first place.
“I don’t understand it to be honest with you,” Barkley said. “It’s hard to win. If you don’t have other good players, you might have individual success but if you don’t have other great players, you aren’t going to win. I think the whole situation is silly and stupid.
“I would want to play with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. I want to play with both of those guys for multiple times in my career and let the chips fall where they may.”
Barkley’s on-air co-host, Shaquille O’Neal, shared a similar take on “The Rich Eisen Show” last week when asked what needs to change with the Celtics moving forward.
“I don’t think they should break up the Jays,” O’Neal said. “They just have to learn how to have better in-game adjustments. The Celtics, you know they’re going to die by the jump-shot and live by the jump shot.
“It’s tough to watch. When it’s falling it looks petty, but you have to have that mentality of, ‘hey I just missed two threes, let me go take a high-percentage shot.’ That’s why they lost.”
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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