Well, things for the Boston Celtics have quickly changed and not for the better, as they have traded away 2024 NBA Finals MVP Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and multiple draft picks, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
This stunning trade brings Brown's time in Boston to an end after being drafted by the Celtics with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. Brown has had a great career in Boston, helping the franchise win the 2024 NBA Finals and cementing himself in the history books of the franchise.
Looking ahead, Boston has a lot of questions to answer, and for fans of the franchise, it doesn't look pretty on the other side right now.
Boston makes wrong move in trading Jaylen Brown for Paul George
Since being eliminated from the playoffs (by the team you just traded Brown to and making the better), Boston had seemed open to trading Brown, including him in a package that could've landed you Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. While that trade didn't happen, with Giannis ultimately landing with the Miami Heat, it doesn't excuse trading Brown for nothing (which, in this case, may be better than the actual return of the trade).
One reason it seemed like Brown could be traded is the contract. Currently, Brown has three years left on his supermax deal and can receive an extension for two years later in the offseason. Though I understand that it was a legit worry having two players make up so much of the cap when building a team in this new second apron era, you got back a worse contract in the trade.
George is on an awful contract that you just willingly traded for. Not only did you trade away Brown for him, hurting the Celtics in the short term, but you also took on a worse contract, hurting the team's future. Yes, George has fewer years on the deal, only having two years left (the second year is a player option, but the California native isn't dumb enough to turn down $56 million), but nobody would look to trade for this deal.
George will be 36 and 37 years old these next two seasons and is only going to decline in play and is injury-prone. When Philly gave him his max deal, it was an obvious overpay, and now you willingly took it on later in the deal.
From a pick standpoint, the two second-rounders mean nothing to me, given how much more luck is involved with the second round and how NIL is causing more day two guys to stay in college and make more money. The two first-rounders are a swap in 2028 and an unprotected first in 2031. Both firsts mean nothing to me, as currently, Philly will be better than you in 2028, and while you could get lucky that the 2031 pick could be good, with how far away it is, it can't help build this team back into a contender during Jayson Tatum's prime.
Based on this move, however, Celtics GM Brad Stevens may have just closed any chance of contending in the near future.
Brad Stevens must address Celtics fans
Since taking over for Danny Ainge, Brad Stevens has rightfully earned a ton of praise for the job he's done in Boston. Stevens was a huge part of building the 2024 NBA Championship-winning team and deserves credit for what he's done in the past. The keyword in that last sentence, though, is "past," as he has undone the goodwill of all those years in one single move.
This trade isn't just his worst trade; it's one of the worst trades in the history of the Celtics. Not only was the return awful, but Brown had three years left on his deal, meaning you had no reason to trade him. Stevens absolutely made the wrong call with the trade, no matter if he can spin it into another move that helps the Celtics.
When a trade is this bad, the GM loses trust from fans, and right now, I have no issue with fans being upset with Brad and having little to no faith in him. Given what has happened with Brown, it makes not landing Giannis an even bigger failure. You could've had one of the best players in the league, but instead are stuck with George, who is most known for choking in the playoffs (nothing personal against George, but given the trade, no matter how his Celtics tenure goes, he's fighting uphill to get fan approval), and draft picks, with only one having any potential to help you.
This trade makes even less sense because you're punting on the team's near future when you still have Tatum, who is one of the best players in the game and in his prime as a player. While you may be worried about his health moving forward, it still doesn't make this trade any more defensible (I don't think a way exists to help make this trade make sense).
A trade as bad as this can effectively ruin how fans view a GM or team(to see this, just look at how Red Sox fans view John Henry), and fans rightfully should be upset with what the Celtics just pulled. Fans deserve to hear what Brad's reasoning behind the trade was, because looking at the final product, I'm struggling to see how this trade makes the Celtics better.
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