The Athletic reported on Friday that an internal debate over Jaylen Brown’s value, anticipated issues with Brown returning to his former role after Jayson Tatum’s return, fallout from the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade saga and concerns over Brown’s playing off-script in the Philadelphia series led to this weeks stunning trade to the 76ers.
Brad Stevens, long a fan of Brown, finally relented and moved Brown for Paul George, two future first-rounders and a pair of seconds — a seismic trade he and the franchise will now wear while facing an uncertain path forward.
Downplaying any financial motivations for a deal, the story by The Athletic’s Jay King and Sam Amick focused on Brown’s analytical profile that left much to be desired from both Boston and suitors around the league. It also highlighted Brown’s numerous statements stemming back to March that stressed his pride proving himself as a top option on a team and leader, commentary he continued after the trade this week. Speculation over how much Brown wanted to maintain that status in Boston proved true, King said on CLNS’ latest Celtics Daily episode, and the Celtics wanted to get ahead of any potential conflict over his role. Amick and King also referenced Tatum trainer Drew Hanlen’s regular references to the team’s success when Tatum garners a higher usage.
“Still, the Celtics began to have questions about whether he would remain fully bought in moving forward, according to league sources. Internally, they wondered whether they could keep everyone on the same page basketball-wise, as they had always managed to do in the past.“
Brown shared a hinted frustration earlier this week on his Twitch stream, stemming from what he perceived as deeper motivations for the trade that the team didn’t make clear to him — and an overall lack of respect.
Celtics president Brad Stevens and governor Bill Chisholm will address the trade with reporters on Monday afternoon when it becomes official. Tatum posted an Instagram story wishing his former teammate the best, assistant coach Sam Cassell expressed optimism after the trade while others in the organization posted their appreciation for Brown in the aftermath. Brown said younger players like Neemias Queta and Luka Garza reached out to him directly. The Celtics reportedly liked what they received for Brown, George returning to his prior form in a more complementary role as the Sixers defeated Boston in the first round. Two picks they received could become valuable given new flat lottery odds, or drive a follow-up move.
That won’t happen this offseason, for now. King reported that the Celtics will keep George who is owed $114.3 million over the next two seasons, despite speculation over the veteran’s goodbye post to Philadelphia that did not reference Boston. The Celtics’ status as a hard-capped team at the first apron, which they’re $5 million short of, makes utilizing their trade exception or acquiring a contributor with those picks difficult until next summer.
Still, the Celtics’ front office will continue receiving enormous scrutiny following a trade that left many confused over its urgency. George’s sparse availability across recent seasons, age, his salary that equals Brown’s this season, overall declining productivity and a 25-game suspension last season for violating the league’s anti-drug policy gave him negative trade value. Should Philadelphia have needed to trade a first simply to move on from his contract, that effectively left the Celtics with one first of value in return for Brown, albeit while shedding the final $65-million year on his deal in 2028-29. That will make George an expiring contract next summer.
There’s a world where George’s contract, as many as five tradable future firsts and Brown’s decline could make the trade look better in one year, but that’s forecasting numerous uncertain outcomes far from likely to occur. Boston seemingly misjudged Brown’s market and went too far down the road of assessing it that they couldn’t turn back. A source cited in the Athletic story said the Celtics worked at a disadvantage having not actively shopped Brown previously. For what it’s worth, those assessments by executives and scouts around the league led to a maddening month of reporting around the trade saga, one revelation often refuted by the next.
Since the Brown trade, it became clear that Boston’s thwarted Antetokounmpo pursuit both fell much shorter of acquiring him than simply adding Hugo González and another pick, and wasn’t hindered by money. Antetokounmpo’s agent drove a push to land with Miami. Also, the Trail Blazers, reportedly a leading suitor at one time, did not actively pursue Brown, according to The Athletic. Numerous other teams expected to have interest in Brown never got involved, and others floated their assessments of him falling far below his achievements and counting statistics. One general manager said that his team did not consider Brown a top-50 player.
Brown’s long-running criticism of those assessments have continued into this summer, going back-and-forth with ESPN’s Bobby Marks after he shared an even more hyperbolic anecdote of a source in analytics whose numbers saw Brown as seventh-best on a team. Anonymous critiques turned personal, returning old tropes about Brown’s intelligence that he artfully played off on his stream. Brown lamented his character becoming targeted throughout the process, though King stressed that the Celtics’ trade did not stem from personal issues they had with him.
Many will continue to wonder why, if that wasn’t the case, the Celtics couldn’t wait. Brown had certainly shared a number of gripes between the late stages of the Philadelphia series, Boston’s shot attempts playing into the Sixers’ hands, a desire to have played the style they did in Game 7 earlier and his own critiques of the Celtics’ three-point heavy approach, which he believed the league had moved past. Tracy McGrady relayed Brown’s deep frustrations with the organization, comments he later walked back, while multiple reports noted that Brown never asked out of Boston. In fact, following the wave of criticism over his favorite season comments, Brown said that if it was up to him, he’d play the next 10 years with Boston.
Instead, he’ll suit up for the 76ers now, another layer to the brazenness of Boston’s move, sending him to a direct competitor, 300 miles away, who plays the Celtics four times per year and just defeated Boston in the playoffs. Brown joins Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. LeBron James will consider joining the Sixers, too. And for Boston, uncertainty awaits about how they’ll construct the next contender around Tatum and before that, how they’ll explain a difficult transaction to a saddened and confused fan base. Brown sounded at peace with the result late this week, calling his new teammates and looking forward to his new role in Philadelphia.
“The process of how we got there, the work ethic, the guys buying in, the guys growing and allowing me to lead them, getting it done night-to-night, it was an honor,” Brown said on his stream. “It was an honor, because we could’ve rolled over. I probably would’ve reached this result, personally, either way it goes. It I would’ve not gave any effort, let it be a throwaway year, it probably would’ve gotten to the same result. Me showing up, leading us to the two seed, it would’ve probably the same result. So it was, I think, it was inevitable either way. Their mind was already made up. So it’s all good. We move forward.”