The Boston Celtics didn't exactly make a concerted effort last season to quiet swirling rumors of locker-room discontent. Superstar point guard Kyrie Irving called out his team's younger players on multiple occasions, while veteran forward Marcus Morris was also no stranger to publicly and candidly discussing the Celtics' lack of chemistry.
Needless to say, playing in that type of environment – irrespective of their role in creating it – made it hard for young players like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to continue on their accelerated developmental paths. Both got off to difficult starts last season, but Brown adjusted well to a midseason shift to the bench and Tatum gradually curbed his debilitating penchant for pull-up two-pointers. Though last season wasn't completely lost for Brown and Tatum, it certainly didn't do much to help propel them to stardom, either.
To a man, the Celtics are optimistic that a roster overhauled by an active summer will foster a culture more aligned with those of Brad Stevens' first few teams with the green and gold. Irving, the single biggest driving force behind all that disharmony, is gone, replaced by Kemba Walker, one of the most revered leaders in all of basketball. Boston has better balance offensively, too, with more ball to go around absent Irving and Al Horford and fewer mouths to feed.
Plus, as Brown told The Athletic's Michael Lee, he simply “can't see it being any worse” than last season for the Celtics in terms of “dysfunction.” All signs point to him being right. We'll find out for sure once the 2019-20 season tips off in October.
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