The 6:13 p.m. Twitter notification hit my phone’s lock screen like a cement truck. Now, I know this isn't excactly an instant reaction, but I had to gather my thoughts to avoid giving readers a column full of word vommit and cursing.
If you want that, here you go:
Anyways, we’d all known that there was a strong possibility that Jaylen Brown had played his final game for the Boston Celtics two months ago.
His name had been woven into trade rumors all offseason and for a while, it felt like he’d be heading to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
But, no one expected his next NBA game would be played for the franchise that sent the Celtics packing in the first round of the playoffs -- the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Celtics executed this trade so poorly
I suppose that brings us to our first issue, first of many.
It made zero sense in the build up to this eventual blockbuster for Boston to send their 10-year star and former NBA Finals MVP to their biggest in-conference rival and the team that ended their season.
The 76ers may not have been better than the Celtics all season, but they were when it matter, and then the Cs gave them some extra help.
Emphasis on gave. Now, onto problem two.
The price.
Not only did Boston send Brown to Philly, but they did it for a 36-year-old Paul George, a complicated (and seemingly valuable) 2028 first-round swap, the Sixers’ 2031 first-round pick, and two second-round picks.
It isn’t the haul that many fans would’ve thought the Celtics could’ve commanded if they were to trade Brown. We did, after all, hear rumors that they were angling for four firsts in any potential deal.
With said deal coming with three months left in the offseason, you’d have assumed that Philadelphia's offer would’ve had to be pretty special for the Celtics to forgo another 90 days of potential bidding and negotiations. It wasn’t.
George, who makes roughly the same as Brown, is largely thought to be a negative asset as he enters (and already might’ve been in) the twilight of his career. This isn’t to say he can’t have an impact on winning, because he certainly did when he helped Philly eliminate Boston for the first time in 44 years.
No franchise is looking to pay the former All-NBA forward $117 million over the next two seasons -- except your Boston Celtics, of course.
Boston's willingess to take a subpar offer for Brown was disrespectful
The above is important. It conveys a layer of added disrespect in this whole already disrespectful move. Brown represented the franchise well during his decade-long tenure. He put in the work to deliver on the promise of being selected third overall in the draft. He took on many different roles, eventually growing into an All-NBA level talent and, again, Finals MVP by the end.
Brown is the 10th leading scorer in franchise history. He ranks seventh in playoff wins and playoff points scored.
He was undeniably great, both on and off the floor.
JB always repped the Celtics with pride and led by example in the city. He consistently made an effort to show up for the citizens of Boston, whether it was by visiting a school, delivering Christmas gifts to families, or organizing and spearheading programs to bring equity to underserved communities.
Reddit Post of the Day pic.twitter.com/dSuObV5YB9
— Sam LaFrance (@SamLaFranceNBA) July 2, 2026
In return, he was dealt for pennies on the dollar without asking to be traded, according to multiple reports.
Now, they didn’t murder him, right? Although, their eagerness to trade him for an inadequate return did briefly make me question whether or not he’d done something as sinister himself. It still doesn’t make much sense otherwise.
There was logic in play here, it's just hard to see
It’s professional sports at the end of the day. A cutthroat world where it’s better to act a year too soon rather than a year too late. Had Boston waited to trade Brown, they could’ve had a serious problem on their hands when they inevitably didn’t want to offer him another supermax contract extension because it would put them into quite the bind with the league’s strict CBA restrictions.
In that case, they could’ve found themselves with next to no leverage, like the Bucks did last month when they traded Giannis with one single season left on his contract, completely allowing the start to narrow the bidding for his services.
If the Celtics would’ve let it get to that with Brown, they could’ve wound up trading him for Paul George, two firsts, and two seconds…
This trade is a multi-faceted issue, though. The transaction itself can and should be separated from the outlook of this team moving forward.
You can be upset about how the front office handled their decision to move on from Brown, what they garnered in return, and their overurgency to get a deal done.
There’s also plenty of reason to feel optimistic about the 2026-27 Celtics and beyond. Boston still has Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and the rest of the roster that won 56 games with Tatum sidelined for most of the season. They just added a key frontcourt piece in Mitchell Robinson.
This should be an enjoyable season. To be clear, it would've been more enjoyable with Brown playing alongside those guys.
Beyond that, they could reroute George’s expiring contract ahead of the 2027-28 campaign along with the picks they acquired for Brown to possibly land another star. Or, they could hold onto the picks and use them to add young talent on team-friendly deals into the frey. Plus, they'll have extra cash to throw around once George's contract expires which can be used to pay out new contracts and retain key players.
For this deal to come back and bite the Celtics, a lot more will have had to have gone wrong beyond failing to demand an ample return for Brown.
That still shouldn’t acquit them of any wrongdoing.
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