For a few years now, the narrative about the Celtics is that their superstar pairing of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum isn’t working, despite making it to four Conference Finals together, advancing to one NBA Finals appearance during their run in Boston over the last six years.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on First Take he believes in Boston’s duo and doesn’t think it’s smart to split them apart.

“Listen, Jaylen Brown is 26 years old. Jayson Tatum is 25. You’re not going to get me to look at two dudes, one averaging 30 in Tatum and another averaging 26 in Jaylen Brown at this age with five times they’ve been to conference finals and went to an NBA Finals. So you’re not going to get me to look at them as a finished product. These guys can still soar if they want to; to me, it’s the want-to factor of Jaylen Brown that comes into play.”

It’s not often when you can agree with Stephen A. Smith on a take, but I do with this one. However, I don’t think Brown needs a reality check of where he stands within the team. 

The Celtics are in a position to offer Brown a supermax contract this summer and one to Jayson Tatum next summer. If they do so, the duo will take up around 70 percent of Boston’s cap, proving they believe in their All-NBA duo.

The new CBA makes it challenging for teams like Boston to re-sign their players.

But if they truly feel strongly about Brown and Tatum leading the Celtics to Banner 18, then Boston will only be able to add supplemental pieces around them rather than a third star.

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