Jaylen Brown Traded to 76ers for Paul George and Four Draft Picks

The Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers on July 1 for Paul George and four draft picks. Five days later, NBA executives around the league were still struggling to explain the return. “I mean, the guy got traded for less than Walker Kessler,” one general manager told ESPN. “That’s baffling to me.”

Brown leaves Boston as a five-time All-Star, the 2024 Finals MVP, and the player who led the Celtics to a 56-win season while Jayson Tatum recovered from a ruptured Achilles. He arrives in Philadelphia to join Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and a roster that knocked the Celtics out of the playoffs in the opening round last season. The 76ers moved from 60-1 to 22-1 to win the NBA Finals the day of the deal, according to DraftKings.

The Package Boston Brought Home

The 76ers are sending Paul George, two first-round picks (2028 and 2031), and two second-round selections (2028 and 2030) to Boston to complete the deal, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania. The full terms of the July 1 trade include a wrinkle on the 2028 first, which can convert from a first to a swap that is more favorable to Boston, and on the 2031 selection, which is an unprotected Philadelphia first. The 2028 second is the most favorable of the Warriors, Thunder, and Bucks. The 2030 second is the most favorable of the Wizards, Trail Blazers, and Suns.

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, returned in March, and averaged 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. Boston takes on what multiple executives called one of the NBA’s worst contracts, with two years and $110.7 million remaining.

The deal closed a busy Wednesday for the Celtics, who also agreed to free agent deals with Mitchell Robinson and Mike Conley on the same day. The trade came almost three months before training camp starts, a timing several executives called unusually rushed.

How It Compares to the Walker Kessler Deal

The same week, the Utah Jazz landed a pair of unprotected first-round picks and a pair of unprotected swaps from the Los Angeles Lakers in the sign-and-trade deal that delivered Luka Doncic the center he so strongly desired in Walker Kessler. The Jazz did not have to take back any salary, and they did not have to absorb a star whose contract is considered one of the league’s worst. Kessler is a promising young big man who has yet to earn an All-Star bid.

By contrast, Boston netted one unprotected first-rounder, another first-round pick or swap depending on where it lands, and a pair of second-rounders for a five-time All-Star in his prime. Multiple executives around the league called the gap “pennies on the dollar.” Boston also took back George’s contract, which several executives called one of the worst in the NBA.

The trade reset both franchises’ championship math in real time. Sixers Finals odds moved from 60-1 to 22-1 on DraftKings the day of the deal, from 20-1 to +900 to win the East, and from 22-1 to +600 to win the Atlantic Division. Boston’s Finals odds moved from +700 to 10-1, its East odds from +260 to +360, and its Atlantic odds from +120 to +170. The Celtics also agreed to add Robinson and Conley, both on shorter deals, to a roster that lost its best player for what execs called a panic return.

“You can’t make sense of it other than they had to do something. They had to,” a pro personnel scout told ESPN. “They couldn’t bring him back. He wore out his welcome there. But it’s a bad move. It looks bad, too. They panicked and made a bad decision.”

The Analytics Gap Behind the SuperMax

On paper, Brown’s 2025-26 season was the best statistical year of his career. He ranked fourth in the league in scoring with a career-high 28.7 points per game. He also posted career bests of 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists, joining Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic as the only players to average at least 25 points, six rebounds, and five assists. He finished sixth in MVP voting and made second-team All-NBA. Brown’s 2025-26 stat line, by every counting number, was top-ten.

The advanced numbers tell a different story. The Celtics have had a better net rating with Brown off the floor than on it in each of the past four seasons and six of the past eight, per the team-level data shared with ESPN. Teams use different models, but the consensus across front offices is that Brown’s impact is not as impressive as his media-voted accolades or his contract. The five-year supermax extension Brown signed in 2023, the richest in NBA history at $304 million, will pay him $183 million over the next three seasons alone.

“The stats guys in every room don’t see him close to that. Probably the widest gap in the league,” one general manager said. “They’re certainly telling you they don’t think he’s the sixth-best player in the league. Then the contract is really big, and the expectation to extend that is really big.” A third GM put a finer point on it: “There’s guys like this all over the league. Brandon Ingram, DeMar DeRozan, etc. The difference is he’s not at $40 million. He’s at $60 million. It’s really hard to tie up that much of your salary cap in one player unless they’re truly generational. And he’s not even close to that.”

Stevens’ Failed Giannis Push

Boston had not set out to trade Brown for Paul George. The Celtics tried first to use Brown as the centerpiece of a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, sources told Charania. Boston offered Brown and two unprotected first-round picks to Milwaukee but refused to include intriguing young prospects. Milwaukee agreed to a trade with Miami instead, and the Heat landed the Greek Freak.

Brad Stevens, Boston’s president of basketball operations, was selected by his peers as Executive of the Year in two of the past three seasons. Several executives told ESPN that Stevens’ stubbornness under the circumstances befuddled them. The Celtics’ refusal to move the needle on a young-prospect ask cost them a generational target, in their eyes.

“I like Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez, but those guys aren’t moving the needle,” one general manager said. “I’d rather have Giannis and not those two than Paul George with those two.”

Another added: “If you knew you were going to trade him, why not go all in for Giannis? It was still a hard decision for Milwaukee. If you knew you had to get rid of him and you were in the final two, why not put in a bit more?” Multiple executives told ESPN the asking price Boston put on Brown in the days before the deal scared off several potential suitors, who moved on to other business.

The Temperament Question

Several scouts and executives told ESPN that potential trade partners were also concerned about why the Celtics felt so motivated to move Brown in the middle of his prime. The common perception around the league is that the Celtics determined that Brown’s partnership with Tatum, which generated tension that Boston managed for years before the duo helped hang the franchise’s 18th championship banner in 2024, had run its course after nine seasons. Brown’s unapologetically strong personality, outspokenness, and reluctance to adapt his style of play all factored in, executives said. Boston had openly shopped Brown for weeks before the deal, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, and teams that engaged in brief talks came away with the same read on the fit.

That prompted worries about how Brown would fit with other teams that already had established stars. Brown won more in Boston than any other player over the past decade, he pointedly mentioned on social media over the weekend, a post that did not quiet those concerns.

One president of basketball operations laid out the calculus bluntly: “If Jaylen isn’t happy winning Finals MVP, All-NBA, winning with the Boston Celtics, how’s it going to be with us? If he’s not happy there, what is he looking for? It scares teams.” Neither did the May livestream in which Brown called Embiid a flopper. He now plays alongside him.

What the 76ers Are Banking On

Philadelphia’s bet is that a 29-year-old Brown, on a contract that runs through 2028-29, gives the Sixers a second star next to Embiid that complements Maxey. The 76ers beat Boston in the first round of last season’s playoffs and now add the player Boston leaned on to win the title two summers ago. Edgecombe, the rookie, rounds out the rotation.

The odds market bought in. Sixers championship odds moved from 60-1 to 22-1 on DraftKings the day of the deal, from 20-1 to +900 to win the East, and from 22-1 to +600 to win the Atlantic Division. Boston’s Finals odds moved from +700 to 10-1, its East odds from +260 to +360, and its Atlantic odds from +120 to +170.

Several executives said Stevens erred by accepting the package so soon, figuring Philadelphia would not find another taker for George. The trade market tends to dry up after free agency, one noted, and trade value typically decreases the longer a player lingers on the market when the rest of the league knows a team feels pressure to move on from him. Philadelphia, by contrast, gets off what multiple league executives called one of the worst contracts in the NBA while adding a 29-year-old Finals MVP on the same cap sheet.

I’m surprised they felt so forced to do it right now, to Philly and for that package!

That was the first general manager, reacting to the timing and the destination of the deal. The president of basketball operations put it differently: “Some of the suitors fell away and they thought, ‘We’ve got to do something.’ And this was their best offer. Could they have waited? Could they have repaired [the relationship] with Jaylen? If you’re in three or four weeks of talks and went from five suitors to one, maybe you get nervous. If you don’t think [Brown’s return to Boston] is tenable, it’s better to make a bad trade than none at all.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the Boston Celtics get for Jaylen Brown?

Boston received Paul George, a 2028 first-round pick that can convert to a swap, an unprotected 2031 Philadelphia first-rounder, a 2028 second-round pick (most favorable of the Warriors, Thunder, or Bucks), and a 2030 second-rounder (most favorable of the Wizards, Trail Blazers, or Suns), sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Why did the Celtics trade Jaylen Brown?

Multiple executives told ESPN that the Celtics determined Brown’s partnership with Jayson Tatum had run its course after nine seasons, and that Brown’s personality and style of play made him a difficult fit to keep. Boston had also openly shopped Brown for weeks before the deal. Sources told ESPN that Brown never requested a trade out of Boston.

How much of Jaylen Brown’s contract is left?

Brown is set to make $57 million this season, $61 million in 2027-28, and $64.9 million in 2028-29, and he is eligible to sign a one-year extension on July 26. He signed a five-year, $304 million supermax extension in 2023, the richest in NBA history at the time.

What are the 76ers’ championship odds after the trade?

DraftKings moved Philadelphia’s NBA Finals odds from 60-1 to 22-1 on the day of the deal, from 20-1 to +900 to win the Eastern Conference, and from 22-1 to +600 to win the Atlantic Division.

Where will Jaylen Brown play in 2026-27?

Brown joins a Philadelphia roster that includes Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and VJ Edgecombe, a 76ers team that knocked the Celtics out of the playoffs in the opening round last season.