Celtics trade Jaylen Brown to 76ers for Paul George and picks
Jaylen Brown was sent to Philadelphia for Paul George and four draft picks, breaking up Boston’s title core after its 18th championship.
The Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks, a move that tears apart the roster that powered Boston to the 2024 NBA title.
The first-round selections in the deal are 2028 and 2031 picks, giving Boston added draft capital while surrendering one of its defining players from the last decade. Brown spent 10 seasons in Boston after the Celtics selected him No. 3 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, and his departure closes the book on a run that ended with the franchise’s 18th championship.
Brown’s exit removes the Celtics’ most accomplished two-way wing from a core that also featured Jayson Tatum. In the 2024 NBA Finals, Brown averaged 20.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists, then was named Finals MVP after helping Boston defeat the Dallas Mavericks. He had already been named Eastern Conference Finals MVP that postseason, and he finished the 2023-24 season averaging 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and a career-high 3.6 assists.
George arrives in Boston as a 16-year veteran who joined Philadelphia in July 2024 and was on a four-year, $211.6 million contract with the 76ers. The deal gives the Celtics a veteran scorer on a major salary while adding future assets, a structure shaped by the NBA’s stricter financial rules and the pressure they put on teams trying to keep expensive contenders intact.
The trade also reshapes the Eastern Conference race between Atlantic Division rivals Boston and Philadelphia. Rather than stand pat with a championship core, the Celtics chose to exchange Brown for an older star, draft compensation and a new financial framework. Before settling on this move, Boston had also explored other blockbuster possibilities, including a potential deal centered on Giannis Antetokounmpo, underscoring how aggressively the front office searched for a path that fit both the title window and the cap sheet.
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