In a franchise-altering move, the Boston Celtics have agreed to trade Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.
Brown was selected third overall by the Celtics in the 2016 NBA Draft and spent 10 seasons in Boston, developing into one of the most accomplished players in franchise history. He earned five All-Star selections, two All-NBA honors, and, most notably, was named both Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP during the Celtics' 2024 championship run, helping deliver Banner 18.
The 29-year-old leaves Boston ranked 10th on the franchise's all-time scoring list with 13,474 points and seventh in postseason scoring. His 674 regular-season games are the 15th-most in Celtics history, while his 142 playoff appearances rank seventh.
The trade splits up one of the most successful duos in recent NBA history between Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Over the course of their nine seasons together, no team had more regular-season wins (477) or playoff wins (77). They reached five Conference Finals together, the most of any team over that stretch, and more than the Magic, Timberwolves, Raptors, Hawks, Nets, Kings, Clippers, Pelicans, and Grizzlies have in their entire franchise histories.
Their two NBA Finals appearances are tied with the Heat for the most over that span, trailing only the Warriors.
The return is severely underwhelming for a player coming off the best season of his career.
Brown averaged career highs of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists — a stat line previously reached by only Larry Bird (three times) and John Havlicek (1970-71) in Celtics history. He also finished sixth in MVP voting while guiding the Celtics to 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference as Tatum rehabbed from a torn Achilles.
George is 36 and is due $54 million this season and $56 million in the final year of his contract in 2027-28. The reported picks are a 2028 first-round pick that could convert into a pick swap more favorable to Boston, an unprotected 2031 Philadelphia first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick (most favorable of GSW/OKC/MIL), and a 2030 second-round pick (most favorable of WAS/PORT/PHX).
Not great.
There will be plenty more fallout from this deal and questions for Brad Stevens, Bill Chisholm, and the Celtics front office about how they got to this point.
But for now, it's a drastic change in the direction of the organization with Tatum right in the middle of his prime.
