A single shot from Mike Muscala in the bubble may have set off the kind of NBA chain reaction that eventually helped push the Philadelphia 76ers toward a roster built around Jaylen Brown and LeBron James.
That’s the wild part of this story: Muscala is mostly remembered in Boston as a midseason add-on in 2023, a depth piece meant to give the Celtics a little more cushion in the frontcourt rotation. Not exactly the kind of player you’d expect to show up in a domino chain involving stars like Brown and James.
But his biggest impact here goes back to that game-winning three in the bubble, a shot that moved Oklahoma City’s 2020 pick owed to Philadelphia outside the top-20 protection zone. That pick became Tyrese Maxey.
From there, the ripple effects got bigger. Maxey helped make the Sixers competitive enough to bring in Paul George, and George was then dealt for Jaylen Brown.
Brown, in turn, led to LeBron James being part of the picture as well. It’s the sort of sequence that sounds absurd until you trace each step and realize how one move can unlock the next.
There is one important wrinkle in that line of thinking: George also ended up in Philadelphia because the Sixers gave him the money the Los Angeles Clippers would not. If the Clippers had matched that deal, he would have stayed in LA. Still, Maxey’s value as a draw was real, and that mattered in getting Philadelphia to this point.
The same kind of strange basketball math has worked in Boston’s favor, too. Kendrick Perkins, who was acquired on draft night, was traded for Jeff Green. Green was then moved for a Memphis Grizzlies pick that became Romeo Langford, and Langford was later used in the deal that brought Derrick White to Boston.
That’s a lot of movement for one eventual payoff, but the result is hard to ignore: Boston won two titles and reached four NBA Finals appearances between the two of them.
That’s the NBA in a nutshell sometimes - a long chain of decisions, some luck, some timing, and a whole lot of patience. In Philadelphia’s case, the path from a bubble shot to this current situation has been especially strange. For Boston, the lesson is just as clear: sometimes the smallest moves end up mattering the most.
In Other News...
Celtics Just Lost A Summer Standout In A Brutal Two-Way Twist
John Tonjes summer with Boston had been one of the more encouraging subplots of the Celtics offseason, enough to keep his name in the mix as the team sorted through its two-way picture. The guard, who played in six games for Boston last season after arriving as a second-round pick by the Utah Jazz, also turned heads with a strong showing in summer league and gave the staff a reason to think he might stick around longer.
Instead, his next stop changes the Celtics calculus in a hurry. With Tonje no longer part of the equation, Bostons two-way situation becomes a little less crowded as the front office weighs its remaining options and looks at players such as Amari Williams, Dillon Mitchell and Milos Uzan for the spots still available. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Stevens May Have Just Made Bostons Biggest East Threat Even Worse
Philadelphias offseason has already had a Celtics-shaped edge to it, and the latest move only sharpens that storyline. After Boston sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia, the 76ers have kept building around a core that now looks far more dangerous on paper, with Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe already in place and the front office clearly betting on a faster climb back into the Easts top tier.
For Boston, the concern is less about one transaction than the way the ripple effects keep stacking up. The 76ers pushed the Celtics to seven games in last seasons first round, and now they have added another layer of star power to a roster that already had plenty of it. If the pieces fit the way Philadelphia hopes, the path back through the Eastern Conference could get a lot steeper for the Celtics. [Read more 🡒]
Celtics Fans Just Got The Rival Scenario They Feared Most
The Eastern Conference just got a lot more complicated for Boston, with Philadelphia reshaping itself around a move that instantly changes the balance of power. However the rest of the season plays out, the Celtics now have to prepare for a rival that looks very different from the one they expected when the schedule was set, and the ripple effects go well beyond one marquee addition.
For Boston, the real unease is in what comes next. The Celtics will see this new version of the 76ers often enough to get a close look, and the possibility of a postseason collision adds another layer of pressure to every meeting. What had been a familiar rivalry suddenly carries a far more uncomfortable edge, and that is exactly the kind of scenario Celtics fans were hoping to avoid. [Read more 🡒]