This seems to be the popular phrase, huh?
The "toothpaste is out of the tube."
Seems like many reporters and podcasters are using it recently to describe the Jaylen Brown situation in Boston. The phrase implies that there have been so many rumors and so much speculation that the Celtics simply cannot repair the relationship between the organization and the player.
Today, Sam Amick of The Athletic had a piece where he implied the Celtics "are in ongoing discussions about trading him, in part, because there's just no putting the toothpaste back in the tube." He lists the Portland Trail Blazers as the front-runner to trade for Brown. Unfortunately, they have reportedly taken young center Clingan "off the table." The deal they could make would involve a lot of draft capital, but no players who can equally replace Brown's production next season.
Bill Simmons had a live show on Netflix today where he spoke with NBA insider Zach Lowe. Zach added, "The Celtics are going to have a choice. A very difficult choice... Between taking an offer for Jaylen Brown that is going to be not super well received by the fan base... Or, trying like hell to put the toothpaste back in the tube."
There's that phrase again! The toothpaste!
It seems like we have multiple national figures implying that there has been damage done to the relationship between Brown and the Celtics and that it's potentially irreparable.
But here's my thought... why is it irreparable? Has Jaylen Brown demanded a trade? Is he as disgruntled as he might appear to some through his media appearances and livestreams? Can this be fixed?
Jaylen Brown clearly has taken offense to the suggestion that he isn't as good of a player as you might think when you use analytics to judge his performance. He went on a Twitter rant arguing against the reporting of Bobby Marks, who claimed an NBA executive said Jaylen Brown is the seventh-best player on an NBA team. Brown was not happy about that.
So, in my opinion, will Jaylen Brown be traded? Probably. Does he HAVE to be traded? No.
The Boston Celtics might want to start putting that toothpaste back in the tube.