This is one of those moments in your fandom you might remember forever — where you were when you found out the Philadelphia 76ers traded for Jaylen Brown.
For me, I was on my couch, taking a few bites of the dinner I had just made and settling in. Then, a notification on my phone from X popped up. The Sixers had traded Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks for Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown.
My first reaction? “No f*cking way.” I actually said it out loud, to my phone screen,
alone in my living room.
And I meant it with all sincerity. I double-checked to make sure it was actually ESPN’s Shams Charania, and not Scams Charania or Slams Charania or some other fake troll username. Nope, it was the real Shams. Then I took a moment to wonder if he had been hacked by a troll somehow. Unlikely, and would be especially cruel, but it would be the sort of thing to happen to the Sixers.
I think that’s why this feels so monumental. I didn’t think this franchise could surprise me anymore, in a good or bad way. From The Process through Collargate, to crushing repeated injuries, to player drama around the likes of Ben Simmons and James Harden, to seemingly freakish occurrences like Kelly Oubre Jr. getting hit by a car or Markelle Fultz forgetting how to shoot, to a Paul George drug suspension, to the highs of drafting a player like VJ Edgecombe to the lows of the 2024-25 season… and that’s just naming A FEW of the headlines from the last decade or so.
I didn’t think this franchise could surprise me ever again, honestly.
Until they did. Boy, did they ever. And I love it.
Now, as someone who has covered this team for years now and was a fan of them long before, there is a certain level of fear and apprehension that comes with anything seemingly good happening to the franchise. At times, I’ve almost been convinced the team was cursed by some unknown force in the universe. I’ve often pondered if the Camden practice facility had accidentally been built on a sacred burial ground.
But, today, I’m going to let myself be excited, as a Sixers journalist and as a fan. The reason for that is simple: I love this deal. This was a good deal. A great deal, even. A no-brainer. Hindsight will always be 20/20. Views on the deal could sour in the future if Brown suffers some freak Sixers-esque injury or PG experiences some late-career resurgence in Boston… but it still will not change the fact that this is a deal you do right now 100 times out of 100 if you are Philadelphia.
Let’s look at it practically. The Paul George contract was one widely regarded as one of the worst in the league for its length and cost. Brown makes a similar amount, with one season added, and is 6.5 years younger than PG. Brown is in his prime, much more available — Brown playing 134 games across the last two seasons compared to PG’s 78 — and is simply a better player than PG by a fair margin.
Just look at last season for a small example. Brown played nearly twice the amount of games George was able to (due to injuries and the drug suspension) and averaged a career-high 28.7 points as well as 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 71 contests. George had his moments across his 37 games, but averaged just 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists. Brown was an All-Star, as he’s been for the past four seasons in a row. George hasn’t been an All-Star since 2023-24.
If you don’t want to listen to me, to the stats, or to your own eyes, maybe you’ll take it from Ringer, who has Jaylen Brown at No. 14 in their Top 100 NBA Players for 2025-26. George was ranked No. 66.
Next up is what they gave up in addition to PG. Boston was reportedly asking for the likes of VJ Edgecombe, George and five first-round picks, per Charania. By the time the deal was made, they got just three of those seven asks, with the Sixers keeping the young standout Edgecombe and giving up just two first-rounders — the 2028 (Clippers) of which feels like the biggest loss, if you can even call it that. It is a smaller haul of assets than an injury-prone, 35-year-old Kawhi Leonard just garnered.
I’m not sure how Mike Gansey did it. Perhaps just taking advantage of what felt like a questionable desperation from the Celtics, but welcome to Philly, Mike!
None of this is to say I’ve never criticized or said a bad word about Brown. He’s not infallible, nor am I. I’ve said his Twitch stream antics complaining about flopping and officiating after Boston’s playoff exit was lame. I thought it then, I still do now. I have absolutely personally complained about his forearm push-off method on offense. Now, you’ll also see “reports” from mysterious “league sources” about his personality or his locker room presence being this negative thing.
Not only is Brown a good enough player on his own to outweigh those things, but what the Sixers franchise gets from doing this deal even moreso outweighs all of it by a fair margin. Now, the Sixers have the opportunity to — especially with maybe a little more support pieces down the bench — make an actual contending push with Joel Embiid and Brown for the next few seasons. Even if nothing ends up coming from it and their contracts both end without a championship, you reset in a few seasons with Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe at the helm instead. That’s really not a bad spot for the franchise to be in.
All in all, the reality is time will tell what will ultimately come of this blockbuster between the Sixers and Celtics. Maybe all of my writing and posts about this will join the hall of freezing cold takes in a few years. But again, hindsight will always be 20/20! Right now, at the time the deal is being made, this was an absolute no-brainer for Philadelphia.
And I love that they did it.
