As I write this, former Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown is about to be introduced as a Philadelphia 76er for the first time to the Philly media. The shocking move that sent JB to Boston’s longtime rival left many fans scratching their heads in confusion.
“That’s it?”
Paul George, a 2028 first-round pick swap, Philly’s 2031 first-rounder, and two seconds isn’t quite the haul many would’ve imagined that the team would garner for Brown when rumors of a potential trade began to swirl in June.
NBA Cap expert and host of The Third Apron podcast Yossi Gozlan recently shed some light on the financial aspects of the deal. He pointed out that before Boston gave Brown his supermax contract extension back in 2023, the league’s salary cap had been growing by the max of 10% each season.
Since then, the growth has slowed, meaning that the $183 million that the 2024 NBA Finals MVP is owed over the next three seasons is a steeper price, and a more significant chunk of the cap, than the front office would’ve initially thought when offering the extension.
“I think that’s really something that went into the Celtics’ decision just to trade Jaylen Brown, and when they did,” Gozlan said. “I guess they anticipated that the offers weren’t going to get better with where the cap was going. And, I suspect that this context was baked into negotiations to where the Sixers got Jaylen Brown for what a lot of people consider a very good price.”
Brad Stevens basically said this all last month
Gozlan’s take is on the money. When Celtics president of basketball operations fielded questions at the Auerbach Center last month after the trade, he was sure to mention how difficult it is to build a team with two players (Brown and Jayson Tatum) combining to take up 70% of the team’s cap space.
“The path looked a little bit more challenging to me -- I might be wrong, not going to stand up here and be defensive about that -- but the path looked a little bit more challenging with 70% of our cap and such a high percent of our usage tied into two players,"Stevens told reporters via CLNS Media.
With recent playoff failures like the 2025 second-round loss to the New York Knicks or this spring’s 3-1 series collapse against the 76ers, it’s tough to justify keeping the team’s roster together the way it was constructed, with the price being so steep.
Today’s CBA restrictions make it even more difficult. We all saw the Celtics have to peel key pieces of their championship core, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet, and Kristaps Porzingis, off to avoid spending above the second-apron threshold.
Brown would’ve become eligible for a contract extension this summer, which could’ve been worth another $220 million through the end of the 2031-32 season when he’ll be 35 years old. If the Celtics were already apprehensive to be committing 35% of the cap to Brown, they would’ve abhorred doing it when he was that old.
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