“Can he carry the load by himself?” – 6x NBA champ questions Jaylen Brown’s superstar status fueling Celtics rebuild rumors

Six-time NBA champion Bob Cousy believes Jaylen Brown could be the next to make way, with the Boston Celtics looking to complete a rebuild during the offseason. With some players already being traded away, further moves are expected to be made to balance their books.

In a candid interview with the Boston Globe on Thursday, Cousy expressed his concerns over Brown’s ability to lead the Celtics amid Jayson Tatum’s absence.

“In my judgment, Jaylen is not quite at the superstar level that Tatum is at,” Cousy said. ”Can he carry the load by himself? I see a major rebuilding effort here.”

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Celtics legend Bob Cousy on Jaylen Brown with Jayson Tatum out: “In my judgment, Jaylen is not quite at the superstar level Tatum is. Can he carry the load by himself? I see a major rebuilding effort coming.” (via @BostonGlobe)

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Continuing to offer his views on the topic, Cousy believed Brown couldn't take the Celtics to the "promised land" while also empathizing with Boston's new owner, Bill Chisholm.

"Jaylen certainly won’t bring them to the promised land," he said. "This poor new owner must be shell-shocked. The minute he signed on the dotted line, the poop started to hit the fan. Everything that could go wrong for that franchise pretty much did."

With Jayson Tatum ruled out of the 2025-26 season, the Celtics have gone through a major rebuild, shipping out players to balance their books. At the start of the offseason, Boston held one of the largest tax bills in NBA history, with $540 million in combined payroll and luxury tax penalties.

However, the trades of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday reduced that number to $280 million and further slashed the bill by $50 million after trading Georges Niang to the Utah Jazz. After pivoting financially, the Celtics could save a lot more by trading Jaylen Brown's contract, but with Tatum's elongated absence, the forward should remain on the books for another year.

Jaylen Brown names former Spurs legend as the hardest player he ever had to guard

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown joined PlaqueBoyMax’s stream on Thursday. After spending the day working out and chatting with the streamer, Brown opened up about the toughest player he’s ever had to guard in the NBA.

Despite playing against many greats, Brown named former Spurs legend Marco Belinelli as his toughest opposition in the league.

"You need me to be honest? Marco Bellinelli," he said. "Marco Bellinelli used to light me up, bro. He just used to never stop moving. And I used to have to chase him around. The system we had was to chase Marco Bellinelli around all these different screens. And like he's not even getting the ball. He’s still moving back and forth."

Despite struggling to guard Benelli in his initial years, Jaylen Brown has since grown his game, becoming one of the best two-way forwards in the league.

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About the author

Arian Kashyap

Arian Kashyap is a basketball journalist at Sportskeeda with over two years of experience at Essentially Sports and Spice Bite and a Bachelor's in Physical Education and Sports Sciences.

Arian's favorite team is the Miami Heat and it’s mainly down to Dwyane Wade being his favorite player of all time. Arian loved how explosive Wade was as a player and he had all the attributes, whether that be shooting, defending or passing. Arian really liked how he won titles both with and without a dynasty behind him.

Arian has also worked with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools and was the manager for a Delhi-based women’s team called Garwhal Untied. Garwhal won the Delhi league and were runners-up during his tenure.

Arian has judged essay writing competitions for the Commonwealth Students Welfare Group of India in 2023 and was a part of the U-14 team for the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools academy that qualified for the AIFF Round in 2023.

When not working or watching sports, Arian likes riding his motorcycle and reading.

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