Celtics news: NBA GM says Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown are 'closer than you'd think' when it comes to value

An NBA general manager weighs in on the trade value of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, saying it's closer than one might assume.

Coming into the 2018-19 season, much of the Boston Celtics' expected dominance stemmed from the assumption that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown would continue on the path toward imminent stardom uninterrupted. Instead, beset by the presence of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, both of whom missed last year's playoffs, the Celtics' young wings have mostly disappointed this season, and their team has struggled to coalesce as a result.

In the first two months of the season, it was Brown who most felt the ill-effects of Boston's rebuilt pecking order, culminating in his move to the bench in early December. But he's righted the ship ever since, while Tatum has continued only showing fleeting flashes of the offensive brilliance that made him the breakout star of the 2018 playoffs – and the league seems to have taken notice.

As a chief personnel decision-maker told Sean Deveney of Sporting News, the perceived gap between Tatum and Brown in terms of trade value has diminished even more than one might assume given their recent play.

“Between Jaylen and Jayson, it's probably closer than you'd think,” said one anonymous general manager.

Other personnel executives and scouts offered similar sentiments to Sporting News, with most acknowledging that Tatum has the higher ceiling between he and Brown. It's the latter, though, who almost all agree is superior defensively, more scalable to different roles, and seems to have best handled strife of the Celtics' up-and-down season.

The big question: Which player do the New Orleans Pelicans and new executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin prefer? We'll probably find out when Boston chases Anthony Davis with trade offers this summer.