Last month, Brown was the centerpiece of the Celtics’ trade offer for Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Milwaukee ultimately sent the two-time MVP to the Heat for a package of young players and draft picks. Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens later fielded questions about Brown’s status and stopped short of saying the forward would remain in Boston.
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“Jaylen Brown is a big part of us,” Stevens said then. “I’m never going to predict the future. Every indication, everything that I think about over the past few years has been building around those guys, right? Obviously, you never know. But at the same time, I think the one thing that I want to make very clear is how valued he’s always been. He’s been amazing.”
In the ensuing days, league sources said, the Celtics continued trade discussions with multiple teams involving Brown.
One league source said Brown, who led the Celtics to 56 wins with Jayson Tatum sidelined for most of the season following an Achilles injury, never requested a trade and had grown frustrated with how the Celtics were handling this situation. The source said Wednesday that it was too early to know how Brown was processing this trade. Brown did not respond to a text message seeking comment.
George, 36, has two years remaining on his four-year, $211 million contract. He will make $54.1 million next season and has a $56.6 million player option for 2027-28. He has one less year on his contract than Brown, and the move will save Boston about $2.9 million this season. But a league source stressed that this was not a cost-cutting transaction, and there was no directive from ownership to trade Brown.
Last season George averaged 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds but received a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy. He returned in time to help the seventh-seeded 76ers upset the second-seeded Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
While George was an important part of this trade, the future draft picks will be the most valuable assets, with the 2028 first-round choice being particularly enticing.
The 76ers own the Clippers’ first-round choice that year. If that pick lands in the top 16 and the 76ers’ pick is in the top eight, Boston will have a right to swap first-round picks with the better of those two choices. If the Clippers’ pick falls outside the top 16 and the 76ers’ pick is outside the top eight, the Celtics will get the Clippers’ pick while also keeping their own first-round pick. (The Spurs also have the right to swap first-round picks with the Celtics as part of the 2022 Derrick White trade).
The 2031 first-round pick the Celtics will receive from the 76ers is unprotected. Boston will also receive high 2028 and 2030 second-round picks. The Celtics still intend to build around Tatum, their 28-year-old superstar, and now they will have more avenues.
According to a league source, Wednesday’s trade was not completed with an imminent secondary deal in mind.
This blockbuster trade was the most significant move of a busy day for the Celtics. Earlier, league sources said, Boston agreed to a three-year, $47.4 million contract with Mitchell Robinson, the defensive-minded big man who helped the Knicks snap their 53-year NBA title drought last month. Also, the Celtics agreed to a one-year minimum-salary contract with Timberwolves veteran point guard Mike Conley Jr.
But this day will be remembered for the deal that reshaped a roster that challenged for NBA titles for the better part of a decade.
When Celtics lead owner Wyc Grousbeck walked onto a stage at a 2016 draft party in Boston and told a group of season-ticket holders that Brown would be picked third overall, there were boos. But they did not last.
Brown eventually emerged as a franchise pillar and was selected for the first of five All-Star teams in 2021. In July 2023, Brown signed a five-year, $303.7 million super-max extension, the richest in NBA history at the time. And in 2024, Brown was MVP of the Eastern Conference finals and the NBA Finals, helping guide the Celtics to their 18th championship.
After failing to repeat as champions the following year, that roster became a casualty of the salary cap’s second apron, with Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet all departing.
Those moves, combined with Tatum’s injury, reset outside expectations. But with Brown leading the way, the Celtics roared through an improbable 56-win season, leading to him finishing a career-best sixth in the MVP voting.
Then everything spiraled in the playoffs against the 76ers, the Celtics lost a 3-1 series lead for the first time in franchise history.
Brown, who did online video streams from his home after many games this season, said during one in May that it had been the favorite year of his career. The statement raised eyebrows around the NBA because of the insinuation that Brown’s individual success was more important than winning in the playoffs.
Brown later clarified that he was proud of how he and the team had performed throughout a regular season in which they had been doubted. He was unaware then that he had played his final game as a Celtic.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
