Boston Celtics: Why Jaylen Brown won the James Harden blockbuster

As intriguing as James Harden would’ve been paired up with Jayson Tatum, fans should be happy those NBA trade rumors involving the Boston Celtics did not play out.

The Brooklyn Nets are now the team to beat following the blockbuster NBA trade with the Houston Rockets, but the biggest winner of that deal is Jaylen Brown.

Ironically, it was the Nets starvation to win an NBA championship that initially gave Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge the draft capital to select both Tatum and Brown.  Now, it is that greater starvation that has enabled him to keep his young stars together in Boston.

While much of the NBA will be in watch and see mode with the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Harden, the Celtics and fans get to continue to watch Brown continue his rise towards stardom in Boston instead of potentially watching him reach his sky in Houston.

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That is the biggest gift Ainge could’ve given to fans as the blockbuster trade aftermath suggest Ainge was never willing to part ways with his budding superstar.  As he said during an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher & Rich,” the Rockets were asking too much.

"“We had numerous talks, but the price really wasn’t changing,” Ainge said, as transcribed by Boston.com.  “The price was really high for us, and it was something we really didn’t want to do.  I’m not sure there was anybody – even the people within our organization that respected him and wanted him more, but I think unanimously, we decided it wasn’t the time for us and it wasn’t the price.”"

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is the biggest winner of the James Harden trade

That actually says a lot about where Ainge and the Boston Celtics stand when it comes to Brown.

On the verge of his first NBA All-Star nod, the NBA trade rumors centering around the former No. 3 overall pick in the NBA draft seemed to motivate Brown on and off the court.

His offensive numbers may not be up there with Harden, but the man is averaging 25.8 points a game and showcasing a two-way game that makes the Celtics a better team in the long run.

Simply put, he is a better Robin to Tatum’s Batman than Harden would be as another alpha dog dominating the rock on offense while barely showing up on the defensive end.

Brad Stevens and his core of Brown, Tatum and Marcus Smart have been there before with Irving and from that experience the Celtics have seen a player like Brown really mature and emerge, along with Tatum, as one of the top NBA duos in the league.

Would have Brown prospered in Houston?

Perhaps he could be the superstar leading a team, but his greatness and success would be better served in Boston.  He seems to thrive as a second option who can slide into that lead role once in a while like he did Friday night against the Orlando Magic.

Without Tatum, Brown scored 21 points while dishing out 8 assists in leading the Boston Celtics to a blowout victory.

In conclusion, Ainge strengthened his resume by not making this deal and continuing to believe in the young suds he drafted.  Simply put, he didn’t sell out for a disgruntled superstar who could’ve singlehandedly tore down everything he spent the last few seasons building and he wouldn’t have even gotten a NBA championship out of it.