While everyone is still digesting the Jaylen Brown trade, it's easy to overlook what they got from it. While what Paul George could look like with the Boston Celtics has certainly been discussed, not much has been discussed about the picks Boston got back. Not only are they valuable, but they also allow Boston to do something they haven't done since 2017: watch the fallout if those assets pan out.
The Celtics got the Sixers-Clippers pick swap next year from the trade. For the record, adding Brown could certainly vault the Sixers up a level, but the Clippers have taken a step back over the past several months by trading James Harden, Ivica Zubac, and most notably, Kawhi Leonard.
A betting man would say that they are in a transition period. While not as hapless as the Brooklyn Nets were in the mid-to-late 2010s, it's easy to see them missing the play-in, let alone the playoffs, next year. With the flattened odds, Boston has a good shot at getting a high pick.
They also received Philadelphia's 2031 unprotected first-round pick. They will bank on Brown will be gone or a shell of himself by then (he'll be in his mid-30s), Joel Embiid likely won't be there anymore, and the Sixers running low on options. It's a lot of variables, but it's a solid educated guess.
Basically, this is the Nets' pick situation all over again even if it's not as much of a sure thing as it was back then. That was the secret ingredient to why those Isaiah Thomas years were so much fun. The Celtics were playing fun basketball while also knowing they were going to get better.
That is, of course, if Boston keeps these assets, and it's not a sure thing that they would.
The cruel irony in all of this
Trading Brown gives the Celtics the opportunity to watch a team crumble just like they did a decade ago. Note that doing so was what got Brown to the Celtics in the first place. Many were skeptical of the pick in 2016, but Brown proved Celtics fans were right to be thrilled about the pick the Nets gave them.
The same thing happened with Jayson Tatum the following season. Together, they created a very successful era of Celtics basketball. Even if it only led to one championship, that championship will always be remembered.
As much as the Celtics fanbase justifiably hates that the Brown era ended this way, this trade gave Boston some upside. With any luck, the Celtics will wind up trading Jaylen Brown to get the next Jaylen Brown.
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