Since I’ve had the pleasure of covering games and being around the team for this illustrious blog, I’ve felt proud in my ability to divorce myself from the fandom of the team I grew up with. It’s been easier than I thought it would be to leave those feelings at the door, and that’s only gotten easier over the course of five seasons.
The Sixers trading for Jaylen Brown somehow invoked an extremely negative response that can only be attributed to an irrational fan. The more time that’s passed since
Shams Charania broke the news, I’ve come back to Earth a bit, but the vibes of this trade reeks to me in a way I haven’t been able to get over.
Let’s start with why this thought process feels irrational. Brown is a much better basketball player than Paul George at this stage of their careers. That’s before even factoring in George having one of the least appetizing contracts in the league.
Brown solves the most immediate issue for the Sixers’ roster. He isn’t just a star that can carry the team through the slog of an 82-game season, but he’s proved to be one of the most durable stars in doing so. It’s been flat out difficult to parse through the draft compensation the Sixers are sending to Boston in this deal, but the protections are a lot better than just giving the 2028 LA Clippers unprotected pick to the Celtics.
So, why don’t I like this trade?
The biggest reason might be straight up cowardice. The Sixers have had transactions where it’s looked like they’ve pulled one over on the Celtics, only for it to turn into an abject disaster. Stealing Al Horford away killed a season of Joel Embiid’s prime, and nearly cost the Sixers their shot at VJ Edgecombe in the process of unloading his contract.
Markelle Fultz was a slam dunk No. 1 overall pick in a loaded draft class, and the Sixers only had to cough up one extra middle-of-the-first-round pick to get him. Nine years later, Fultz’s NBA career looks over while Jayson Tatum racks up All-NBA team appearance after appearance.
Now, the Sixers have acquired Brown when his trade value was reportedly reaching a low point. It’s honestly great process for Mike Gansey and company to jump on this opportunity, but the fact that it’s a deal with the Celtics has me waiting for the other shoe to drop. I can’t help but feel the Celtics are cooking up something diabolical for next summer using George’s expiring contract, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
A big reason for this feeling is the fact that it was the Sixers that caused this Celtics tailspin in the first place. Their comeback from a 3-1 series deficit had Brad Stevens saying the team needs major changes while Brown was rushing to Twitch to defend his performance in that series. Now it feels harder to laugh at the situation with Brown a big part of this Sixers roster.
If it was any other team that made this trade with the Celtics, my gut reaction would probably be that they got fleeced, but I can’t get this boogeyman feeling out of my head. It’s exacerbated my concerns about Brown as a star-level player, also to an irrational degree.
For as bad as George’s contract is, he looked really good in that Boston series. The caveat that he had much less of a burden to carry is necessary, but George outplaying Brown for prolonged stretches is a big reason why the Sixers pulled off that comeback.
Speaking of contracts, another thing that gave me pause was the idea of giving Brown an extension. George may be one of the most overpaid players in the league, but that deal comes off the books in two years. Even being a younger, better player, Brown’s current contract is looked at as a team-building constraint by many under this current CBA. It sucks for Brown and many other players of his caliber, but the maximum contracts are harder and harder to justify giving out to a non-top-five player in the league.
That’s harsh to a guy like Brown, who is a perennial All-NBA candidate himself. To slow things down a little, Brown is under contract through the 2028-29 season. The Sixers don’t need to be in any rush to hand him a new deal. Whether they do so will have a big impact on if I still feel this negatively about this trade.
Your appetite for this trade probably varies a lot on what you think the Sixers timeline is or should be. I’m personally of the mind that their best path forward is waiting for VJ Edgecombe to age into his prime and wait for bad money to come off the books.
Because I prefer the longer-term approach, this trade reminds me a lot of the Sixers trade for Jimmy Butler in 2018 — in good ways and bad. That trade drastically accelerated the windows of Embiid and Ben Simmons, throwing them into the fires of immediate title contention in just their second trip to the playoffs. At the same time, Butler fit so well with Embiid they nearly beat the team that would eventually win the Finals that year.
With Tyrese Maxey currently in his prime, this Sixers team might be better equipped to absorb a star like Brown and go for it again. If Embiid is correct in the confidence he had in his left knee after this past season ended, they’ll really be cooking with gas.
Embiid’s health will always be a huge if though, too uncertain for me to make any big short-term risks at the moment. I’m probably overthinking this. Even as each hour since the trade has been broken, I feel I’ve come back to Earth on this more and more. Besides, the only people who seem to dislike this trade more than me are Celtics fans.
