Boogie Cousins Declaring That Jason Kidd Broke Up Jayson Tatum And Jaylen Brown Is Further Proof That Everyone Has Lost Their Goddamn Minds

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Following getting their asses completely handed to them in Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals, the Mavs were desperate to try to change the momentum of the series. It was pretty clear from the opening tip that the Mavs were in big trouble in that matchup (which they eventually lost in a quick 5 games becasue the Celts tanked Game 4 on purpose to win the title at home), so Jason Kidd decided to be desperate and try and spark some sort of rift between the Jays by calling Jaylen Brown the Celtics best player

It was nothing we as fans (and the team) hadn't seen before, as that type of bullshit was a daily occurance by their opponents and networks like ESPN dating back to 2020. But when you know as a coach you're fucked and there's nothing basketball-wise you can do to change the series, you try this route. I don't fault Kidd for trying it, he was desperate. He knew his team was getting belt to ass and needed to try anything he could. Sadly, it did not work

Fast forward to 2026, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are no longer teammates (this hurt to type tbh). And because we already know that when it comes to the Tatum/Brown topic that people generally lose their minds, I am being forced to see takes like this come across my timeline

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As I said, forget the fact that this type of bullshit had been happening LONG BEFORE the 2024 NBA Finals, this is also intellectually dishonest. In fact, we know the reasons why the split happened. How? Brad Stevens told us! Both through what he said, and his other moves this summer!

It was not Jason Kidd's attempt to play mind games 3 years prior. To start, it was Jaylen's pending extension and how that implicates their cap moving forward. The Celtics didn't want to pay it, simple as that. In today's CBA world, outside of a small list of players, you don't see any teams having two separate players at 35% of the cap, that's the reality. As Brad mentioned in his end of season presser, the 2024 team was able to be built because Tatum/Brown were only 25% cap hits. That's a very different world compared to them being 35% hits, because at the previous contract level the Celts still had avenues to add talent to mask some of the problem areas. At 35%, that's not really possible. 

Then there's the reality that it's pretty clear at this point that Brad Stevens himself wanted out of the Jaylen business given the direction the team was moving to regarding building out their roster, knowing that they can't really have two 35% guys long term. Leaning more into shooting, defense, offensive rebounding, turnover suppression, efficiency etc doesn't really fit Jaylen's game. So what did Brad do? He traded for George, who fits that profile, he added Mitchell Robinson who fits, and he added Mike Conley who fits. He opened up the pathway to the court for his young wings like Baylor Scheierman/Hugo Gonzalez/Jordan Walsh who all fit that profile as well as more responsibility for Payton Pritchard who fits the mold of how they are going to play moving forward. 

None of that has ANYTHING to do with Jason Kidd's 2024 comments. 

And honestly, shit like this is part of what's so annoying about the entire Tatum/Jaylen discourse. People just say whatever, on both sides. You have dumb shit like this from Boogie that goes viral and becomes a narrative, but then on the flip side there are also Celts fans who are now screaming the George/Tatum duo is better than the entire Tatum/Jaylen pairing which is just as insane in other direction.

My question is this. Why can't everyone just be normal when it comes to this topic/these players?

What is it about them that makes everyone lose their goddamn minds? No, Jason Kidd is not what broke up Tatum and Brown. No, a duo that had a +8 net rating together in over 10,000 minutes sharing the court while being one of the most successful and dominant duos in NBA history was not a "bad fit". Yet my timeline is filled with those exact takes. It's so bizarre to me.

The fact of the matter is the landscape of the NBA changed. It forces teams to rethink how they build their roster and how they build out the best possible roster for both now and the future under the current CBA. The shit the Celtics had to do is no different from what the Nuggets have done following their title, what OKC is starting to do following theirs, and what the Knicks are about to have to deal with themselves following their 2026 title. 

The season hasn't even started yet and I can't lie, I'm already extremely over this entire topic. I know it's going to remain a thing every time BOS/PHI play and it'll be a narrative that follows both teams all season, but it's exhausting. It was exhausting when they were teammates, and now it's just as exhausting with them being split.