BOSTON — The Celtics are finished with Jaylen Brown, offloading the All-NBA wing to division rival Philadelphia for the most uninspiring trade package since Dallas dumped Luka Dončić, and the question now is … why?
Was it a basketball decision? Surely the Celtics don’t believe that the shell of Paul George is a better fit than Brown … do they? George played 78 games over two seasons in Philadelphia, posting numbers well below his final season in Los Angeles. George looked sharp in the first-round playoff series against Boston—which came just weeks after serving a 25-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.
The Celtics can spin that the pair of first-rounders they picked up have value. And they do. The 2028 one will likely end up as the Clippers’, who are beginning a rebuild with an Aspiration-sized anvil over their head. The ’31 pick is Philadelphia’s and, hey, who knows where the Sixers will be in four years. Boston has kicked the tires on Pelicans forward Trey Murphy III, sources say. This deal gives them more assets to pursue him.
Was it more personally motivated? Brown’s frequent Twitch streams caused some headaches in Boston’s front office and his claim that last season was his favorite—besting, you know, the 2024 run that ended in a championship—didn’t go over well with the fan base. Behind the scenes there was plenty of grumbling about Brown’s desire to be viewed as a basketball equal to Jayson Tatum.
Were there financial reasons? The Celtics slashed payroll like a floundering crypto company last summer. But that was strategic: With Tatum down, Boston had the opportunity to slide under the tax aprons, setting itself up for future flexibility. Bill Chisholm and his private equity pals have taken some arrows, but taking on George—and absorbing one of the worst contracts in the NBA—isn’t the act of an owner trying to pinch pennies.
Was it one of those reasons? More than one? All?
Who knows? What we do know is the Celtics just got measurably worse.
Brown is a star. A borderline superstar. Any number crunchers telling you otherwise are off. He’s 29, a two-time All-NBA selection who is coming off his finest season. Brown finished sixth in MVP voting last spring (he should have been top five), made the All-NBA second team (he should have been first) and led Boston’s motley crew to 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the conference. He’s in his prime, and under contract for the rest of it.
And he fits. Somewhere, there is still a piece of confetti stuck to a duck boat from the Celtics’ championship parade. Boston underachieved in the 2025 playoffs, no doubt. And it was cringey watching the Green blow a 3–1 lead to Philadelphia in the most recent one. But the Celtics addressed a frontcourt hole with the addition of Mitchell Robinson and added a little backcourt depth with Mike Conley. Any list of conference contenders had them at the top of it.
The Celtics saw it differently. They saw a team that needed to be broken up. They saw a duo that needed to be split. They saw a decade of success—six conference finals, two NBA Finals, one championship—that had run its course. Said a league source familiar with the Celtics’ thinking, “J.B. had to go.”
Well, clearly. Boston has dangled Brown before. For Kawhi Leonard. For Anthony Davis. For Kevin Durant. Its pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo wasn’t surprising. Offseasons that come and go without a Brown trade rumor, that is surprising.
Still, this one felt different. The failed pursuit of Antetokounmpo didn’t end Brown’s availability. It increased it. The Celtics had many conversations about Brown, sources say. They sought players. They asked for draft picks. They made it clear to teams that they were serious about trading Brown. And they were.
But for this? George is 36, with a troublesome left knee. He rediscovered his three-point stroke last season (39.2%) but for the second straight season shot less than 44% from the field. George, said an NBA assistant coach, “is a full-time jump shooter,” whose days getting to the rim are long behind him. Boston was undoubtedly impressed by George’s play in the first round but legs tend to be fresher after a league-mandated two-month vacation.
Another question: Why now? Brown did not ask for a trade, sources tell Sports Illustrated. He was frustrated by the Celtics’ naked efforts to move him, but he wasn’t ready to go to them about it. In a recent Twitch stream, he said he hoped to play in Boston for the next 10 years.
Where did the urgency to do this deal come from? Was there a market for George no one knew about? Was Philadelphia planning to flip its picks for another All-Star wing? Did this Happy Meal of an offer have a shelf life? Clearly league-wide interest in Brown was lukewarm. What’s unclear is what sitting on it for a few weeks would have hurt.
It’s less important, but Philadelphia? In trading Brown, the Celtics beefed up a division rival. Brown joins Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe in a dynamic perimeter trio. The Sixers added Dean Wade and Ariel Hukporti to the front line. Brown adds another reliable scoring punch—which will take a lot more pressure off of Joel Embiid.
Boston? It can spin a scenario that George gets load managed through the regular season while Hugo González and Baylor Scheierman step into bigger roles. They will count on a monster season from Tatum and steady contributions from Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser. Maybe they won’t win 50-plus games. But they could still be formidable come playoffs.
Or it could go the other way. George’s decline continues and González and Scheierman aren’t ready. Tatum is still working his way back to pre-Achilles-injury form while White’s shooting continues to hover around 40%. All while Brown comes to town a couple of times looking to curb stomp Lucky.
This story isn’t over. Brad Stevens will speak in the days ahead. Brown will, too, and yowza, I’d tune in for that one. For 10 years Brown delivered for Boston and for nearly as long the Celtics have been talking deals for him. It’s done now, and as hastily as Boston did this deal, it better be right.
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