The Boston Celtics aren't championship contenders anymore. That window has closed.
They weren't championship contenders before the Jaylen Brown trade, and they definitely aren't championship contenders after.
Everybody knew changes needed to be made to Boston's roster because it wasn't good enough. It wasn't even good enough to beat the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs (even when they were up 3-1). Trading Brown wasn't the solution, though, and the Celtics' outlook just got significantly worse.
The Celtics aren't title contenders anymore
Ignore your feelings about the trade, and let's just look at the Celtics' roster for what it is. They still don't have a lot of depth. They still desperately need bench scoring (now more than ever). Even though I like the Mitchell Robinson signing, I don't think he's their center of the future. And they're putting a lot of pressure on Jayson Tatum, who has played 22 total games since returning from his Achilles tear.
The idea was that, if you had to trade Brown, you needed to address a need (i.e., trade for a new starting center, at least get a younger wing like Trey Murphy III, acquire a ton of depth), and Boston did none of that. They traded for Paul George, whose contract is widely considered arguably the worst one in the NBA in 2026 (he has a $56.6 million player option for the 2027-28 season) and isn't going to make much of an impact when he's wearing street clothes for 80% of Boston's games.
(Side note: I was so vehemently against the Celtics trading Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo because I was concerned about his injury history, age, and contract. The irony of this whole thing is not lost on me. And if I could take it all back, I would.)
Celtics are losing their ranking in the Eastern Conference
And on top of all of that, the rest of the East is leaping Boston in the standings.
The New York Knicks just won a championship. The Toronto Raptors, who were already a good playoff team, just added Kawhi Leonard (we know what went down the last time this happened). The Miami Heat added Giannis. The Cleveland Cavaliers, who were just in the conference finals and were the No. 1 seed in the East the year before, might reunite with LeBron James. The Indiana Pacers are getting Tyrese Haliburton back. The Detroit Pistons were just the No. 1 seed. And, obviously, the 76ers added Brown to a team that just beat the Celtics in the playoffs.
(And, if we want to go there, too, the Washington Wizards have an intriguing trio of Anthony Davis, Trae Young, and AJ Dybantsa, and they shouldn't be ignored moving forward.)
One of my first thoughts after the Brown trade was that the Celtics just closed their title window. I've slept on it, and I've processed some things into the next day... and I haven't changed my mind at all.
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