The pressure may suddenly be on for the Boston Celtics this postseason.
Boston could potentially break up their core of star forwards Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown this summer, Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated reported this week on FanDuel TV’s “Run It Back.” Mannix does add however that such a scenario may come to fruition only if a) the Celtics suffer an early playoff exit and b) if Boston can get Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo out of it.
Sam Amick says the Celtics could look at trading Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown for Giannis:
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 10, 2026
“If they get bounced in the 2nd round… they're gonna look at the landscape.”
(via @RunItBackFDTV) pic.twitter.com/cIgAhhWJcT
The Celtics have recently been linked to Antetokounmpo, who is widely expected to (finally) get traded by the Bucks this summer. Thus, one of Brown or Tatum would effectively have to be included for salary-match purposes.
Brown, 29, and Tatum, 28, have been co-stars in Boston since 2017. They also already survived some past breakup rumors to lead the Celtics to a 2022 NBA Finals berth followed by a 2024 NBA championship.
But both players will now be making over $57 million each next season, and Tatum is still working his way back into form after a 2025 Achilles rupture (averaging 21.8 points per game on career-low shooting numbers of 41.1 percent from the field and 32.9 percent from three since returning). As such, the Celtics may have to make a difficult decision if a player of Antetokounmpo’s caliber becomes available this offseason.
Of course, the 31-year-old Antetokounmpo is older than both Celtics stars and is also making $58.5 million next season with a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28. Meanwhile, Boston sits at 54-28 on the year (No. 2 in the East), and they even have some prominent analysts giving them a chance to win it all. With that in mind, there is a strong argument for Boston to simply retain their core for next season and upgrade around the fringes instead.
