Jaylen Brown has a new home, as the Boston Celtics agreed to send the former NBA Finals MVP to the Philadelphia 76ers in a blockbuster trade Wednesday, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
The 76ers are sending Paul George, two first-round picks (2028, 2031) and two second-round selections (2028, 2030) to Boston to complete the deal, sources said.
Brown’s future in Boston had been in question in recent weeks. The Celtics attempted to trade him and two unprotected first-round picks to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Milwaukee instead agreed to a trade with Miami.
Boston had spent recent days looking elsewhere for a trade partner, with sources telling Charania that the team was “full-blown shopping” Brown around the league by Wednesday. Sources also told Charania that Brown never requested a trade out of Boston.
The draft picks going to Boston in the deal have the following parameters, sources told Charania:
• The 2028 first-round pick could convert from a first to a swap that is more favorable to Boston
• The 2031 selection is an unprotected Philadelphia first
• The 2028 second-round pick is the most favorable of the Warriors, Thunder and Bucks
• The 2030 second-rounder is the most favorable of the Wizards, Trail Blazers and Suns
Brown, who will turn 30 in October, leaves Boston as a five-time All-Star as well as the 2024 Eastern Conference finals and NBA Finals MVP in helping Boston win its 18th championship.
He is coming off a career season. He finished sixth in MVP voting and was a second-team All-NBA selection while leading the Celtics to a 56-win season. He averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game — all matching or exceeding his prior career highs.
One of the top two-way forwards in the league, Brown had partnered with Jayson Tatum to form the backbone of a perennial contender in Boston for the past decade since being taken with the third pick out of Cal in the 2016 NBA draft. His 142 playoff games since entering the NBA are the most of any player over that span.
He now joins Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and a 76ers team that knocked the Celtics out of the playoffs in the opening round last season.
George, 36, is a nine-time All-Star who now will play for his fifth NBA team. He spent the past two years in Philadelphia, averaging 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in 78 games. He was suspended 25 games without pay in January for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, returning to the 76ers in March and averaging 16.4 points per game in the playoffs.
He is set to make $54.1 million this season and has a $56.6 million player option for 2027-28. Brown is set to make $57 million this season, $61 million next and $64.9 million in 2028-29; he is eligible to sign a one-year extension on July 26.
Boston’s surprise playoff exit in May led to questions about the future of the team — with Brown at the forefront.
His feelings about the organization came into question when Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady, during a podcast, said Brown has a frustration that “lies deeply within the [Celtics] organization.” But in the days afterward, Brown reaffirmed his happiness in Boston, saying if it were up to him, he would remain with the Celtics long term, and Brad Stevens, the Celtics’ president of basketball operations, denied there was a growing rift between their star player and the team.
Stevens again addressed Brown’s status in the aftermath of the failed talks for Antetokounmpo with the Bucks, saying last month that Brown is a “big part” of the team while also acknowledging that he’s “never going to predict the future.”
That future for Brown is now in Philadelphia, an in-division, Eastern Conference rival of Boston.
Brown and Embiid also have a history, with the former calling the 76ers big man a flopper on a livestream after their playoff series in May.
“Joel Embiid is a great player. One of the best bigs in basketball history. [But he] flops. He know it,” Brown said. “This ain’t breaking news. It is what it is.”
News of the trade had a significant impact across sportsbooks.
The 76ers moved from 60-1 to 22-1 to win the NBA Finals, according to DraftKings. Philadelphia also went from 20-1 to +900 to win the Eastern Conference and from 22-1 to +600 to win the Atlantic Division. Boston, meanwhile, saw its NBA Finals odds move from +700 to 10-1, its odds to win the East go from +260 to +360 and its odds to win the Atlantic from +120 to +170.
The trade capped a busy day for the Celtics, who also agreed to free agent deals with Mitchell Robinson and Mike Conley, sources told Charania.
Information from ESPN’s Bobby Marks was used in this report.
