Kemba Walker Told Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown 'to Love Each Other' amid Trade Rumors
Kemba Walker said he helped Boston Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown stick together amid constant trade rumors.
The former Celtics guard discussed the situation with ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on The Woj Pod (h/t Conor Roche of Boston.com):
Tatum and Brown were viewed as the long-term foundation of the Celtics roster, but questions began to emerge about whether the duo would remain in place amid the team's sluggish start to the 2021-22 season.
Boston started the campaign 2-5 and spent most of the season's first half hovering around .500, which was well below preseason expectations.
In mid-January, Tatum told reporters a conversation with Brown came to the conclusion they "both want to be here" together:
"It's not many players in the league like JB. The grass ain't always greener. We've had some great stretches and this year hasn't been what we've expected, but I think in the long run it will be good for us. We gotta figure some things out, but I think the most important thing is we both want it extremely bad. We want to try to figure it out together. So for us just to be on the same page is extremely important. We got each other's back and we're going to give it all we got to figure this out, regardless of what people say."
The Celtics bounced back in a massive way, eventually reaching the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors, where they lost in six games.
Tatum has developed into one of the NBA's most complete players since Boston selected him with the third overall pick in the 2017 draft.
The 24-year-old Duke product averaged 26.9 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists last season in Boston. He ranked second among all NBA players in FiveThirtyEight's WAR metric (15.8) for 2021-22.
Through 13 games in 2022-23, the three-time All-Star has raised his game to a new level with an average of 32.3 points per game.
Brown has been nearly as productive, earning one All-Star selection while scoring at least 20 points per game in each of the last three years.
Despite earlier question marks, it's now clear the two can coexist and compete at a high level while helping the Celtics contend for a championship.
Walker only spent two years with Boston, but his leadership might have had a profound effect on the franchise.
