Hot from the rumor mill ...
Houston sends James Harden to the Boston Celtics for Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Romeo Langford and whatever picks or minor details you need to make this thing pass the NBA salary fire wall.
I am not sure if this will become a reality or not, but I SURE HOPE IT WILL!
Do this deal!
I can hear you yelling at me now.
WHAT?! Jaylen Brown is a rising superstar!
Harden will take the ball out of Jason Tatum’s hands!
Harden does not play defense!
Marcus Smart has grit and guts!
Blah! Blah! Blah! Right now, your Celtics are the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference ... at best. Miami, Milwaukee and Philly are all better than the Celtics. Yes, Philly, Doc will get much more out of the Sixers than Brett Brown.
(Quick sidebar – Steve Ballmer may know gigabytes but to let go of Doc during an injury plagued season AND a pandemic was shortsighted. I am being kind.)
Back to my take ... and oh yeah, Russell Westbrook is in Washington with Bradley Beal, so maybe the Celtics are the fifth-best team in the East.
The window for Tatum, Kemba and Brown has closed.
In response to the above blah, blah, blah.
Some might disagree ... Oh, well.
Brown is very good, but he is not and never will be the best player on a contender. He is a supporting character. Side note: He will be a U.S. Senator one day.
Yes, Harden will take shots from Tatum, but just maybe this will kick Tatum in the butt to make the most of his shot opportunities. All of you have anointed Tatum as the second coming. Why? The next great superstar does not put up a goose egg in a half of a vital playoff game.
I have come around on Smart, but grit and guts are not enough to beat Jimmy Butler, Bam, The Freak and a Sixers team that listens to their coach.
The name of the game in the NBA is buckets. You score more points, you win. Harden can do that.
Make the deal.
(Editors note: Look for Gary Tanguay filling in on WEEI in the coming weeks, along with some more of these red-hot columns.)
