The Philadelphia 76ers added an MVP candidate for less than the price of a Philly Cheesesteak, acquiring Jaylen Brown for Paul George, two first-round draft picks, and two second-round draft picks from the Boston Celtics.
After years of being mentioned in trade rumors, the Celtics finally broke up their star duo of Jayson Tatum and Brown. This time, it was clear that the writing was on the wall.
Analytically, Brown is supposedly the seventh-best player on a team, but a pair of eyeballs and understanding of raw stats should quickly put that sentiment to rest.
This is a guy who took over as the best player deep in the Celtics’ championship run in 2024, winning Finals MVP for his high-scoring outputs and individual defense on Luka Doncic. Brown also helped the Celtics win 56 games and earn the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference with Tatum out for most of the season.
It’s valid that the Celtics wanted to trade Brown to preserve future flexibility and avoid paying him a high salary into his mid to late 30s. However, the Celtics simply got robbed in this trade, and there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Now there’s a chance that the pick the Celtics acquired in 2031 becomes a lottery pick, if not the No. 1 pick, but the pick they acquired in 2028 should probably be in the later part of the first round, barring an unforeseen collapse. Even if the Celtics get lucky in 2031, they’re solely banking on the ping pong balls going their way and wasting Tatum’s prime years, unless the team eventually decides to trade Tatum as well.
George is well past his best days as a player and should not be expected to be the same downhill force he once was. He can still be good for around 15 points per game and solid defense, but you’ll be lucky if he can even play half of 82 games at this point.
Now the Sixers have a legitimate scoring wing who can take a significant load off of Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey’s shoulders and provide a much-needed defensive lift on the perimeter. Brown’s presence could also give VJ Edgecombe ample time to develop his all-around game and ease into a bigger workload.
The Sixers will need Embiid to stay healthy for this new team to work, which is far from a guarantee. But it wouldn’t be a shock to see them limit the former MVP’s workload during the regular season and sit him on back-to-backs.
The all-around upside is there for the Sixers with Brown in the fold, though. Brown, Edgecombe and Maxey could wreak absolute havoc defensively on the perimeter, light it up from all three levels, and put intense pressure on the rim. Embiid, of course, can stretch defenses out towards the perimeter, giving Brown and Edgecombe more space to attack and cut to the rim.
Chemistry and health will be key, but on paper, this is a team that can get to the NBA Finals within the next few years.
