It might be an unpopular opinion, but I think JB is more essential to Celtics than JT.

Tatum's injuries also tip the scales in Brown's favor.

Regarding draft picks, I think Boston could protect their 2031 first-round pick.

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Edit: Below I present one of the arguments I offered in the comments as to why Boston should keep Brown instead of Tatum.

First of all, I mention "injuries" because of Tatum's Achilles tendon injury last season and his left knee injury against 76ers in these playoffs, which is why I'm using the plural.

Regarding the offense, everything you've said is true, but when I talk about "essential", I'm not referring to that aspect of the game, but to the perimeter defense characteristic of contending teams like OKC.

Boston excels at three-point shooting, and also at its perimeter defense (sometimes underrated). This defense is a problem against the other Eastern Conference franchises: Detroit (Cade), Knicks (Brunson), Cavs (Mitchell & Harden), 76ers (Maxey & Edgecombe), Pacers (Haliburton), Hornets (LaMelo, Miller & Knueppel), Heat (Powell & Herro, for now)...

If you have Pritchard as your starting point guard, you need an elite one-on-one perimeter defender like Brown, who also possesses offensive skills. Furthermore, if we look at Western Conference, the two standout teams, OKC and Spurs, also boast a strong offensive backcourt.

Another problem, both now and in the future, is Wemby, and you need the most reliable tool possible to try and stop him. Tatum defends well, but he excels more at anticipation than one-on-one defense.

Therefore, I believe Boston's move should be to trade Tatum for Giannis and White for a center who complements Giannis (in other words, who can shoot from outside to spread the floor).

Boston's lineup would be as follows:

• PG: Payton Pritchard

• SG: Jaylen Brown

• SF: Hugo González

• PF: Giannis Antetokounmpo

• C: center exchanged for White / Queta

For me, the key aspect is Hugo's potential development going forward. You don't need him to replace Tatum (obviously, he can't), but it would be helpful if he were the Alex Caruso of Celtics against Wemby, for example, and if he could refine his outside shooting to take advantage of the space created by Giannis's presence on the court.

Ultimately, Tatum may be a more complete player, but in my opinion Brown and Giannis are more necessary to face the other contending teams.