Right now, it's nearly impossible to imagine the Boston Celtics without Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. These two stars are pretty much the heart and soul of this franchise, which is why it's almost unfathomable to even envision these two studs in a different uniform other than the Celtics' green.
According to reports, however, Boston came close to dealing both players a few years ago. This came during the summer of 2019 when Anthony Davis put the entire league on high alert after demanding a trade from the New Orleans Pelicans. The Celtics were rumored to be one of the possible landing spots for the want-away superstar, with Boston supposedly set to give up both Tatum and Brown in a potential blockbuster deal.
As we all know, this supposed trade never happened. Instead, Davis took his talent to the Los Angeles Lakers to team up with LeBron James.
Former Celtics president Danny Ainge has now opened up about that botched trade, and based on his most recent revelation, the Celtics actually never really took part in the AD sweepstakes:
“There never even was that deal. That’s the other thing,” Ainge told Underdog Fantasy’s Rob Perez, via Conor Roche of Boston.com. “You're assuming there was a deal like that. There was no deal like that. There might have been one truth in that era, so yes, I'm saying that wasn't true.”
![[NBA awards] Nikola Jokic next to Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, Jalen Brunson, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.clutchpoints.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F04%2F2024-NBA-awards-Official-picks-for-MVP-All-NBA-more-150x150.jpg&w=320&q=75)
This does not come as a huge shock. Ainge, who now serves as a high-ranking executive for the Utah Jazz, earned a reputation for being extremely prudent during his time with the Celtics. According to the man himself, he never even considered dealing Jayson Tatum and/or Jaylen Brown in exchange for Anthony Davis.
At this point, it's hard to argue against the notion that Danny Ainge made the right call.
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