Jaylen Brown’s first matchup with the Boston Celtics as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers comes with a messy backstory, and the latest reporting says Brown was not the one pushing to get out.
For weeks, there were conflicting versions of how Brown ended up in Philadelphia after the Celtics moved him in a deal that surfaced out of nowhere. ESPN’s Kris Rhim reported that Brown did not ask out. Instead, the surprise came when he found out Boston had already tried to send him elsewhere.
“Instead, the source said, Brown discovered his former team had tried - and failed - to trade him to the Milwaukee Bucks while he was on vacation over the summer,” Rhim wrote. “The one thing Brown did ask for, the source said, was to be involved in the process of where he was traded. The Celtics ignored the request and sent him 300 miles southwest to Philadelphia.”
That Bucks idea was part of a larger push by Boston to move Brown, with the Celtics exploring a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Those talks did not get over the line, and Antetokounmpo was eventually traded to the Miami Heat. Even after hearing about the failed attempt, Brown reportedly told the Celtics he still wanted to remain with the team.
But Boston kept working the market. And when the Sixers deal came together, Brown says he was not brought into the process until it was done.
“As the Celtics continued to explore the market for Brown after the failed Antetokounmpo trade, Brown asked to have a say in where he was sent or at minimum be given a heads-up on the destination. But he learned he'd be going to the Sixers only after the deal was finalized,” Rhim wrote.
The move also fits the financial picture Boston was dealing with. The Celtics decided Brown and Jayson Tatum’s contracts were too large to support a roster they could keep sustainable, and that led them to choose Tatum over Brown, even after Brown’s All-NBA season.
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