Would Jaylen Brown Have 'James Harden-Like Explosion' If Traded?
NESN Logo Sign In  The Boston Celtics might face a conundrum with Jaylen Brown. On one hand, hes among the NBAs brightest young stars, with an all-around game thats still evolving ahead of his 25th birthday. On the other, the Celtics are searching for an identity with him and Jayson Tatum as their franchise cornerstones, and its fair to question after a disappointing season whether Boston ever will become a legitimate NBA Finals contender with both in tow. Conventional wisdom says the Celtics should build around Tatum and Brown, even though new president of basketball operations (and former head coach) Brad Stevens, who just replaced Danny Ainge, might be limited in how much he can augment Bostons roster this offseason. The Celtics almost certainly wont trade Tatum, already one of the NBAs most dangerous scorers. So, the focus inevitably shifts to Brown. Think James Harden, for example. Harden, drafted third overall in 2009, spent three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, playing third fiddle behind Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook  and even behind Jeff Green, to some degree, particularly early on. It wasnt until the Thunder traded Harden to the Houston Rockets in 2012 (at age 23) that he flourished and became the perennial MVP candidate he still is today (at age 31) with the Brooklyn Nets.