After coming up just a game short of NBA and American sports history, it is another year where the Boston Celtics fell shy of their ultimate goal.

And despite being a game away from the Finals, it is a step back from the level of success last season, and it could be signaling a need for change with Boston’s core.

And the answer may be a difficult one for Celtics fans to hear, as it’ll most likely come at the expense of their second-best player.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have always been able to thrive together, and this past season was no different. Through the regular season, Tatum averaged 30.1 points per game on a .543 effective field goal percentage, while Brown produced 26.6 a night with a .550 eFG%.

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Usually, the biggest concern with two players of All-NBA caliber is a power struggle or off the court issues, which some have reported from Boston’s locker room, but according to the numbers it seemed like Brown was okay being the secondary option, especially in the postseason.

In their 20 playoff games, Tatum averaged 27.2 a night while Brown averaged 22.7, which outside of his most notable dud in Game 7, Brown was an especially efficient scorer in their playoff run.

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But with both players earning the ability of the Super Max, and Brown entering the final year of his 4-year, $106 million contract, the Celtics may be forced to move on from their 2016 First Round pick.

As of now, the Celtics are $50.6 million over in cap space, and a potential buyout of Brown’s deal could save them over $30 million in cap space next season. The team would obviously prefer to trade the superstar, but only a handful of teams can currently afford to bring his current cap hit to their team, let alone if he gets the max.

Since Boston is the only team that can offer him the supermax, any other team potentially acquiring Brown has a bit more wiggle room than Boston would if trying to keep both stars.

But at least half of the league would welcome the fiscal challenges brought with acquiring Brown, as the sometimes overshadowed player could find himself as a franchise player over the course of one offseason.

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The only question mark left is how he will perform if given the keys to the team, something that he has not done since being qualified for the role. But as we’ve seen recently with players like Jalen Brunson in Dallas and Julius Randle in New Orleans jumping from the secondary option to the primary with ease in year one, the benefit of doubt may be in the 26-year-old’s favor.

For the Celtics’ sake however, finding another option to play alongside Tatum will be a tall order, and may cause them to deal Brown earlier than later to utilize a loaded upcoming draft.