Jayson Tatum, Brown Reportedly Seen as Celtics' 'Unquestioned' Pillars by Insiders

The Boston Celtics are expected to stick with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown next season whether or not the team wins a second straight title, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.

Fischer wrote Friday for The Stein Line that "several league figures with knowledge of Boston's thinking have remained adamant about Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown continuing to be the unquestioned on-court pillars of this franchise... despite the wishful thinking from some teams out there that Brown would somehow be made available this summer."

Whether the Celtics ultimately stick with the rest of the 2024-25 rotation depends on the team's success during the upcoming playoffs, some insiders told Fischer.

One Western Conference executive told Fischer: "You can't break up a team that could be going for a three-peat."

Another insider identified by Fischer as a "team capologist" told him, "They're going to have to trade some guys at some point."

The Celtics are on track to enter the postseason behind the Cleveland Cavaliers as the second seed in the East. That puts the defending champs on track to play either the No. 7 or No. 8 seed, currently projected as the Atlanta Hawks or Orlando Magic, depending on how the play-in tournament shakes out.

Boston has currently committed to at least two more seasons with each member of its rotation outside of Kristaps Porziņģis, who is currently set to hit free agency in 2026.

Brown and Tatum are both signed through at least the 2028-29 season, and Tatum holds a player option for the 2029-30 campaign.

But keeping all of those players will come at a high cost to a new ownership group led by Bill Chisholm, which recently purchased the Celtics for a valuation of $6.1 billion.

According to The Athletic's John Hollinger and Jay King, keeping the Celtics' roster together next season, even if Al Horford and Luke Kornet both walk in free agency, could cost Chisholm's group $445 million and set a record for the highest payroll in NBA history.

That cost could be worth it if the Celtics are on the road to three straight championships— but anything short of a title could lead the new ownership group to consider some roster changes this summer.