Logically speaking, if the franchise is in a state where it can't retain Jaylen Brown due to front office and coaching incompetence, there isn't any workaround for that. If he pushes for a trade, the C's are doomed.
Its hard to see how one trade under such conditions could put enough shine on this thing to keep Tatum the next year.
I don't see how the franchise can entertain going in reverse at this point, and rebuild.
Agreed -- if Brown asks out, Tatum will not be far behind.
No, I disagree. I think it's fine (Jaylen leaving) so long as you can make a lateral move or even better an upgrade.
The odds of being able to make a lateral move are pretty solid because Jaylen is young, established, highly productive and on a great contract. There will be a strong trade market for him. Plus, he fits just about anywhere (unlike guys like Ben Simmons).
I only see this as a "lose Tatum" type situation if the front office decides to trade Jaylen for prospects and/or picks. A future based trade. A rebuilding trade. In this scenario, I do not see Tatum having the patience to wait through it. His contract expires at the wrong moment. He'll be evaluating his options and he'll likely decide he wants to spend his prime playing a Championship not waiting for kids to develop so he'll leave.
But like I said, I am very happy with the trade market for Jaylen Brown and the ability to make a sideways move (lateral trade) should Jaylen ever decide he wants out. I do not view that as a lose Tatum option. This is still "business as normal". Just a different route. Same goal, same timeline, different path forward.
if Jaylen is asking out what sort of team do you think is going to give the Celts a big haul that can then be put to the use of making the Celts competitive in the short term?
Teams that have to trade a core player because that player wants to leave don't typically get better afterward.
While Jaylen will have 2 years left on his deal as of this summer, meaning the Celts aren't in the worst position to negotiate a trade, they're also not in a great spot if Jaylen is asking out.
You also have to factor in where Jaylen wants to go. Again, two years left on his deal means he won't technically have much ability to dictate where he ends up. But if you're the Celtics and you've seen all manner of talent go out the door over the last 5 years, can you really afford to reinforce the idea that you're not a franchise that does right by its players? Sending Jaylen to some rebuilding team in a small market, if that's not the type of situation he wants to be in, would probably exacerbate that issue.
In short, I think you're glossing over what Jaylen asking out would say about the current state of the Celtics and also the perception of the team around the league that must exist already and will persist / worsen due to him asking out. I really don't think it's as simple as just going "Oh, well, no biggie, let's just swap him for a comparable talent and see if that mix works better."