Posted 10/6/2026
The NBA has returned for 2026-27, marking 81 years the league has been in existence. There were some notable trades during the offseason: Ja Morant moving to the Trail Blazers, the Heat giving up basically a team and then some draft picks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Kawhi Leonard heading back to Toronto. However, one trade in particular involved sending Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Jaylen Brown.
As things go, it looks like a good deal on the surface. Boston gets Paul George, who is still pretty good, and can build a future with draft picks, while Philly gets Brown, who's been awesome and is 7 years younger than George. Also, George suffered a gruesome leg injury during his days as an Indiana Pacer, which may have derailed his career. Subsequently, he bounced around a bit, being a member of the Thunder, the Clippers, the 76ers, and now the Celtics. George's 17 PPG average for the 2025-26 season may have been skewed as he had to serve a 25-game suspension.
On the other end of the spectrum, Brown averaged a stellar 28.7 points per game for the 2025-2026 season, which is hard to come by. He also finished 6th in the MVP race, won the NBA Championship in 2024 alongside Jayson Tatum, and was ultimately the Finals MVP. It's curious why the Celtics would part ways with a player of that caliber. President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens said it was all about the money. The Celtics would have had over half of the team's available salary cap space, 70%, tied to Brown and Tatum.
The Celtics unsuccessfully attempted to trade Brown in an effort to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo, which may have caused Brown some frustration after how he's performed, but that's speculation. Players are expected to be mature enough to realize that the NBA is a business—a big business with several moving parts. It has been rumored that some things were said about Brown which caused a rift in the locker room. Apparently, Brown and the Celtics lost cohesiveness at some point, which is maybe why he was on the chopping block and Tatum wasn't.
Numbers don't lie, and for Brown to have at least 5 years ahead of him, perhaps the Celtics know something we don't, or maybe they goofed in a desperate move to get Brown out of town. The 76ers have a roster that suddenly makes them a serious threat in the Eastern Conference. LeBron James is 40+ and battling arthritis, but he is still LeBron James and puts up solid numbers. Jaylen Brown gets a chance to spread his wings and take command of a team that features the formidable Joel Embiid.
