Many are still questioning the Boston Celtics' decision to trade Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for an 80-year-old Paul George and some picks. And right now, a lot will need to go right for Boston to justify this trade.
It is understandable why the Celtics traded Brown (not the perfect fit in "Mazzulla Ball," would be tough to build a contending roster long-term with his and Jayson Tatum's monstrous salaries taking up so much cap, this gives Tatum the reins as the clear No. 1 guy), but where they traded him to and the return is why so many fans are still scratching their head.
But Brad Stevens has been doubted before, and he's proven them wrong numerous times since taking over as Boston's GM in 2021. It's way, way, way too early to know if this trade is going to be another one of those instances, but based on his track record, don't be surprised if it works out a little better than you, I, and just about everybody else think it will.
Brad Stevens has silenced his doubters before
Stevens' very first move as the team's GM was trading Kemba Walker to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Al Horford, who just about everybody on the planet thought was washed up by that point. That obviously worked out in the end for the Celtics -- Walker was never the same, and Horford played crucial roles in the team's 2022 finals appearance and 2024 finals victory.
A lot of people (including me) thought Stevens overpaid for Derrick White. Josh Richardson was playing good basketball in Boston, I personally hadn't given up on Romeo Langford yet, and trading two first-round picks for White was a lot, especially when he wasn't much of a shooter (34 3FG% through his first five seasons) and was just a backup to Marcus Smart. Obviously, this trade worked out for Boston.
This was a little less controversial, but so many people questioned Stevens' decision to trade Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies as part of the Kristaps Porzingis sign-and-trade, especially given Porzingis' health concerns. Again, this worked out in the end.
And a lot of people thought the Celtics gave up too much for Jrue Holiday (Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon, and two first-round picks). Holiday was instrumental to Boston's championship run.
Is the Brown-George trade going to end up in the same convo? Only time will tell. But Stevens does seem to know what he's doing more times than he doesn't, and maybe he deserves at least a little bit of time to see things through.
Add us as a preferred source on Google