It will just be the preseason, but Boston Celtics fans now know exactly when Jaylen Brown will make his return to TD Garden as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers: Oct. 10 at 8 PM ET.
This game (again, just preseason, but starters do often play in preseason, even if the minutes are limited) will mark Brown's first one in Boston as an opponent.
Celtics better hope the Jaylen Brown trade won't come back to bite them
A few weeks after the Brown-for-Paul George trade, it seems like a lot of Celtics fans are still torn on it.
It made some sense to trade the former Finals MVP (Boston needed to make some changes, Brown's impending contract extension, and his not ideal fit alongside Jayson Tatum), but to the 76ers and for a 95-year-old, broken-down George is the part that everybody still seems confused about.
Maybe the Celtics genuinely couldn't have gotten a better offer for Brown, even if they had waited. Maybe they think George has more than two years of quality basketball left in him (that makes one of us). Or maybe they like George's fit next to Tatum more than Brown's (which, admittedly, is pretty valid).
Either way, this trade was incredibly risky to make, and it could seriously backfire. Tatum is now the clear No. 1 option in Boston, but if he's struggling or out, the team doesn't have Brown anymore to make up for it.
It won't be a great indication of what's to come, and Brown might only play for five minutes, but we can at least get a potential glimpse into the future during the preseason this year.
The Celtics still have a solid outlook without Jaylen Brown
The truth is, the Celtics weren't title contenders anymore, even with Brown. They are no longer the juggernaut they were in 2023-24, and multiple teams across the league (most notably, the New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs) all leapfrogged them in the rankings.
But there is still a lot to like about where Boston stands. On paper, they have a good roster, they made some solid additions (Mitchell Robinson, George, and Chris Cenac Jr., namely), they should see big leaps from guys like Hugo Gonzalez, Neemias Queta, etc., and fans should be excited to see what Tatum can do as a clear-cut first option for the first time in his career next season.
This may be a different Celtics team than we're used to, but that doesn't mean the sky is falling.
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