The Celtics’ championship dreams came crashing down the moment Jayson Tatum tore his Achilles in the Conference Semis—an injury that not only ended their playoff run but may now shake the entire foundation of the franchise. With Tatum out indefinitely and Boston staring down brutal second-apron penalties, all eyes are on the front office. The big question? Is Jaylen Brown the one who gets sacrificed?

He’s owed a whopping $53.1 million next season, and moving him might be the only way out of cap hell. And if he does hit the trade block, buckle up—because according to insider Chris Mannix, the San Antonio Spurs, armed with cap space and a generational talent in Victor Wembanyama, are already circling.

“I think the Spurs are kind of at the epicenter of a lot of potential deals over the next six weeks. You and I on NBC talked a little bit about Jaylen Brown… Jaylen Brown is interesting. If he’s in play, that’s someone I think San Antonio will look at and will go after.” Mannix remarked on The Kevin O’Connor Show. Per reports, Spurs are actively looking for a superstar to pair alongside Victor Wembanyama and De’Aaron Fox. Brown could be that missing piece, bringing in his proven playoff experience and veteran leadership. Moreover, the Texas team has the number 2 pick in this year’s draft that they could use to lure the Celtics.

As of now, the team has shown no intention of trading Brown, but Kevin O’Connor claimed, “I don’t think he’s untouchable.” According to the analysts, the Celtics are open to trading anybody except Tatum, who is clearly their franchise cornerstone. Mannix also confirmed that there is still no clarity on the path the Celtics want to take, “I don’t know yet exactly what course Boston’s gonna chart here, how deep the cuts are gonna go, I mean how they’re gonna view the next iteration of this team.” But if they want to get under the second apron, they are unlikely to keep the same core they had this season. That also puts two key players’ future in jeopardy – Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday!

Veteran insider claims Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday are not safe as concerns emerge about Jayson Tatum’s return

Of course, letting go of Brown would not be an easy decision for the Celtics. After all, he has been with the team for nine years, and many would argue that he is a better player than Tatum. He even has his Finals MVP trophy to back that claim. So, the Cs might consider other options that keep Jaylen in Boston. “I’ve also kind of heard a little bit like we’re just gonna nibble around the fringes. If you want Jrue Holiday, you can have him. Porzingis, I think is available but I think they’d like to get Porzingis back long term at a lower price point on his next deal.” Mannix remarked.

Both Jrue and Porzingis had underwhelming showings in this year’s playoffs. Kristaps was dealing with a lingering illness for majority of the season, and averaged only 7.7 points in the playoffs. Meanwhile, Holiday’s numbers also dropped significantly from last year to 9.5 points and four assists. So, if the Celtics are unable to keep them at a lower price, they could let go of Holiday and KP.

Well, this might be the perfect time to take that risk because Mannix believes next season is going to be a gap year for the Celtics due to Tatum’s injury, “I see no reason to deviate from any kind of plan that next year will be a gap year for Boston.”

As of now, Tatum’s return is uncertain and Mannix believes he might not return for the entire year, “He’s done. I will be shocked if he came back next year. If you get past the All-Star break and you are kind of in that playoff play-in race, the last thing you wanna do is stick a guy back in that’s gonna need some training wheels for a while. You cannot put in Jayson Tatum back into the middle of a playoff race coming off an Achilles injury.”

Without JT, the team’s chances of making another title run next season would be bleak. So, the Celtics could use this ‘gap year’ to realign their roster, even if it means letting go of some key stars. Do you agree?