LeBron James ‘Admires’ Celtics Star, Desires Team-Up: Report

Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Getty Jayson Tatum, Boston Celtics

Even before he joined the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James has had a long, storied rivalry with the Boston Celtics as a player. In his pro career, he has faced them seven times in the postseason, which is the most times he’s faced one team in his playoff tenure. Recently, James went on the record calling Celtics fans “racist as f***.” Yet, despite his rivalry with the Celtics, it appears he may want to be teammates with one of them someday.

Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson revealed that a source told him that LeBron has admired Jaylen Brown for a long time. Not only that, but LeBron may have a desire to play on the same team as Brown.

Brown has had his squabbles with LeBron on the court, as the two of them got into it during Game 6 the 2018 Eastern Conference Finals.

However, as James and the Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the NBA Finals, Brown was one of the first players LeBron went to embrace following the series’ conclusion.

However, playing with Brown may get a little tricky for LeBron in light of the most recent news regarding his contract status with the Lakers.


LeBron Agreed to Contract Extension

Adrian Wojnarowski reported that LeBron has agreed to a two-year extension with the Lakers totaling up to $97.1 million, which will extend his contract to the end of the 2024-25 season.

Wojnarowski later included that the contract could go up even more depending on how much higher the league’s salary cap gets.

Unless the Celtics decide to trade Brown to their storied rival in the next two years, or vice versa, the two won’t be teaming up in the near future. There is the option that Brown goes to the Lakers via free agency seeing how his contract expires in 2024, but the Celtics can offer him a lot more than the Lakers could, and the Lakers would only be an option if they have the cap space to afford him.

Plus, would Brown leave Boston to play with LeBron James in his 40s when he could spend his prime with Jayson Tatum?

LeBron’s not the only NBA superstar who reportedly wants to pair up with a valuable member of the Celtics.


Kevin Durant Wants to Play With Marcus Smart

Ever since Wojnarowski first reported that the Celtics had been in touch with the Brooklyn Nets about the availability of Kevin Durant, there have been many reports regarding how serious the talks were and if Durant would be willing to play for Boston.

On August 10, 2022, Stefan Bondy reported that not only is Boston a preferred destination for Durant, but he also wanted to play with the league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

Durant sees Boston as a desired landing spot, per people familiar with the matter. Durant also would like to play with Boston’s Marcus Smart if he is traded to the Celtics, per people familiar with the matter.

On August 15, Durant was spotted working out with Jayson Tatum in Los Angeles.

It makes sense that both James and Durant have desires to play with some of the Celtics best players. Not only have Tatum, Brown, and Smart proven how talented they are as individual players, but together, they’ve made three Eastern Conference Finals as well as their first NBA Finals appearance all before they turned 30.