One of the first reactions for Celtics fans like myself when they saw that LeBron James was signing with the 76ers was pure agony and disgust. And a feeling that the Celtics somehow made this possible, as trading Jaylen Brown to Philly seemed to open the door for LeBron to ultimately choose them.
It wasn’t like the Celtics directly handed James to the Sixers, but they tipped a big domino. And they should recognize this feeling as well as anyone, because it brings back a lot of memories of when the Bucks unknowingly gifted Jrue Holiday to the Celtics back in 2024. Milwaukee was desperate to improve their team around Giannis Antetokounmpo, so they made an all-in push for Damian Lillard.
Holiday was a casualty of that trade, and it gave Boston the chance to acquire him from Portland, adding the final piece to their championship roster, and the rest is history.
Now, in a similar but reverse twist of fate, the Celtics inadvertently gave a key player on the market the ability to land with a hated rival. Brown’s addition in Philly made signing James a reality, and however this plays out, in a way, the Celtics will always have to live with these results.
LeBron and Jrue’s situations were apples to oranges
Now, for everyone rushing to this reasonable conclusion, including Brian Windhorst and friends on the Hoop Collective emergency reaction pod, let’s just pump the brakes here a little bit. The Bucks were desperately pushing for a win-now move when they added Dame. Dealing Jrue was a necessary evil, not something they wanted to do.
With the Celtics, they were actively looking to trade Brown away, seemingly wanting him out the door regardless of where he landed. It was not a win-now move at all, but one that created optionality for the future.
Also, it’s not like the Bucks directly handed a player to the Celtics. Boston willingly gave Brown to the Sixers, knowing fully how badly it may look to their fanbase and still feeling it was worth it. James was a 41-year-old free agent, and the Celtics couldn’t control where he went. Realistically, he was going to be playing for a hated rival regardless, either in Cleveland, Miami, or Philly.
Boston knew this could happen, and chose to do so anyway. Sure, LeBron is there now, but it’s not like the 76ers are some juggernauts now, or even close to favorites to win the championship. This was part of a calculated risk by the Celtics that they had no problem taking. Sure, it may blow up in their face, and we’ll all have to live with it, but for now, nobody in Boston should be sweating.
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