The Boston Celtics surprised the NBA on Wednesday by buying and selling franchise star Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. While Brown’s title had surfaced in commerce rumors all through the offseason, few anticipated Boston to ship the 2024 Finals MVP to one in every of its greatest Eastern Conference rivals.
The return bundle, Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks, has been broadly considered by followers and analysts as underwhelming for a participant coming off one of the best season of his profession.
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President of basketball operations Brad Stevens instantly confronted heavy criticism from followers, who questioned why the Celtics would transfer a 29-year-old All-NBA expertise nonetheless in his prime.
Former Boston Celtics ahead Jaylen Brown.Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
To make issues worse, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that Brown by no means requested a commerce and the transfer “was all the Celtics,” which led to extra outrage from Celtics trustworthy.
Just hours after the blockbuster deal grew to become official, Stevens quietly decided of his personal. Fans shortly seen that the Celtics president of basketball operations had deactivated his Instagram account amid an avalanche of criticism following the commerce.
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The commerce has been notably hanging as a result of Stevens has constructed a popularity as one of many NBA’s greatest executives. Since shifting from the bench to the entrance workplace, he has constantly discovered methods to maintain Boston among the many league’s elite, assembling the roster that gained the 2024 NBA championship whereas navigating accidents, cap challenges and roster turnover. He additionally earned the NBA’s Executive of the Year award for the 2025-26 season, his second such honor in three years.
This commerce, nevertheless, has been labeled by many as one of many uncommon missteps of Stevens’ govt profession. Many proceed to query why the Celtics accepted a bundle centered round a 36-year-old George as an alternative of ready for a stronger provide.
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To Stevens’ credit score, the offseason is way from over. Boston nonetheless owns extra draft capital from the deal and the entrance workplace might look to make additional strikes because it tries to construct a workforce round Jayson Tatum.
In the meantime, although, Stevens should stay with the criticism after letting go of arguably the franchise’s most dear participant and strengthening a longtime rival.
This story was initially revealed by Athlon Sports on Jul 2, 2026, the place it first appeared within the NBA part. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.