Zolak & Bertrand: Who’s the better #2 option… Jaylen Brown or Kyrie Irving?

On Thursday's edition of Zolak & Bertand, we discussed who's the better #2 option between Jaylen Brown and Kyrie Irving.

It depends where Kyrie Irving's head is at...

Marc Bertrand: 

Who's the better #2? Kyrie Irving or Jaylen Brown? Nobody wants to answer this question. I mean, nobody wants to do it. 

Scott Zolak: 

I mean this is getting insane. It's insanity at this point. Because it's like... you complement the other guy. If you look at them, they're sort of not comparable. Like Brown is such a different player than what Irving is. I sometimes view Brown as the one, that's the problem. I think you got two guys that are like nip and tuck right there together. Then you got Kyrie and Luka. There’s separation there. 

Marc Bertrand: 

The part about Kyrie being the better offensive Player 100 out of 100 times is how I think Bill Simmons said it... I agree with that. He is. He's the more  natural offensive player and shooter. All of those things are true about Kyrie Irving. I don't even think that is debatable. Now, if you want to debate their production in certain stretches, you're going to be able to find that in recent years, Jaylen Brown has been a more consistent player because Kyrie is all over the place. It’s because you never know which version of Kyrie you're going to get again, which phase of the moon are we in when it comes to Kyrie? And so, if you're doing this in a vacuum, on their best day when their minds are right, Kyrie's the better #2. But you don't know that you're going to get that night in and night out. You don't know what you're getting series to series, year to year, team to team with Kyrie Irving. You just don't know. So, if you're building out the team, well Jaylen Brown in a lot of ways is a safer pick. But in terms of who’s the more talented offensive player? That's Kyrie. That is undoubtedly Kyrie Irving. 

Listen to the full segment!

Game 1 is almost here (if only we had a little more buildup!) and if you are a Celtics fan you have to love the opportunity that is in front of the team. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have a chance to win their first championship and do it against Kyrie Irving, the player that turned his back on the team and did his best to tank the franchise. While Irving’s decision to walk out the door remains fresh in the minds of Celtics fans it did happen five seasons ago and a lot… I mean A LOT… has happened in the NBA since then.

So, what better time than now to take a look at some of the biggest moves that have occurred that led us to this point. Before we get into the list a few caveats, first to make this as fresh as possible we are only going to take a look at moves that have taken place since the last time the Celtics were in the Finals. Also because Porzingis has not played in over a month we are going to take that trade off the table as well. That being said let’s dive into the list.

This is the trade that completely reshaped the Eastern Conference for this season. Lillard was the annual disgruntled superstar that was ready for a change. Giannis wanted to team up with another star and so the Bucks went all in to make their franchise player happy. And from the Bucks perspective I get it. You are not a destination franchise, your future depends on Giannis being a part of the organization, and if there is a move that can land you a stud while also keeping your star player happy it's a no brainer. Unfortunately, for the Bucks the move didn’t work. Head Coach Adrian Griffin was blown out midway through the season and replaced with Doc Rivers. Both stars were not healthy in the playoffs and the team was bounced in the first round. The reality is even if the team was healthy the Bucks took a step back this season. In hindsight the move for Lillard appears to be an overreaction by the franchise. Last year the team won 58 games and finished first in the East. Yes, they were eliminated in the first round but again Giannis was hurt. The team clearly missed what Jrue Holiday brought to the table this season and to not only take him off the roster but also have the Celtics wind up with him was a devastating blow to the Bucks.

This one is obvious, but it is impossible to ignore the job that Brad Stevens has done since taking over the front office for the Celtics. There are a number of deals that you can point to, but this one is at the top of the list for me. Turning a disgruntled Malcolm Brogdon, constantly injured Robert Williams III, and picks into Holiday is a steal. Not only did Holiday more than fill the void left by Marcus Smart but the bonus of immediately taking some of the shine away from the Lillard trade by dealing for Holiday just days later made this one extra sweet.

This one is a little out of the box but it certainly made a major impact on this postseason. Tim Connelly was the architect behind the core of the Denver Nuggets. He drafted Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray and traded for Aaron Gordon. He is now the president of basketball operations for the Timberwolves and managed to build a roster designed to beat Denver. Mission accomplished. The upstart Timberwolves knocked off the defending champs and cleared the path for the Celtics to be the favorites to win the championship.

I’ll be the first to admit I never thought we would see Kyrie Irving in this position again. I won’t go over every incident that took place in Cleveland, Boston, and Brooklyn that led me to believe a franchise that wants to win a championship shouldn’t consider bringing Irving in but there was certainly a pattern that had been established by the end of his run with the Nets. On top of that the honeymoon period with those franchises continued to get shorter and shorter. That’s why when the Mavericks traded for him last year, I thought it was a disaster of a deal for Dallas. And guess what? Last year it was! The Mavs were 28-26 when they acquired Irving and they finished the season 38-44 and missed the playoffs. Simply put, the trade did not work.

So, what does any good franchise do after trading for a player that helped lead them to a disappointing end to their season and left his three previous teams in shambles? If you guessed sign him to a 3-year $126 million deal you nailed it! Yes, the Mavericks needed to make a big move to try and keep their superstar happy (are you sensing a pattern?) the move would also be best described as DESPERATE. But you know what every once in a while, teams actually connect on a Hail Mary. And in this case the Mavericks have pulled off the NBA version of the Miami Miracle. After missing a good chunk of time in the regular season Irving has been everything you could want in a 2nd star both on and off the court. I still don’t think it ends well in Dallas for Irving but does it even matter? This Finals run has already made the contract worth it for the Mavericks.

So, what have the last couple of years in the NBA taught us? Brad Stevens is really good at his job. Tim Connelly did exactly what he set out to do in Minnesota and now has the Timberwolves in a position to contend in the West for years to come. And yes, making a trade to try and keep your superstar happy can work (Kyrie Irving) but there is just as much of a chance that the trade will blow up in your face and you will take a step back as a franchise. Oh yeah, and the Celtics are about to win the championship.