Brad Stevens didn’t hide from the reality of it: moving Jaylen Brown was a brutal call.
Brown spent a decade with Boston and was part of a run that kept the Celtics in the playoff picture year after year, including trips to the NBA Finals in 2022 and 2024. In that 2024 title chase, he shined alongside Jayson Tatum and walked away with the NBA Finals MVP award. For a front office trying to manage two stars, the arrangement looked ideal - no ego war, no friction, just two elite pieces working together.
But that era is over. Brown is now gone after being the main piece sent to the Philadelphia 76ers, who have become one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference after also landing LeBron James in the offseason. The move stings even more for Boston because Philadelphia is not only a division rival, but also the team that erased the Celtics after rallying from a 3-1 deficit in the 2026 Playoffs.
Stevens, Boston’s team president, said on SiriusXM NBA Radio that the decision came down to the bigger picture and the need to keep the roster sustainable.
"At the end of the day, the biggest thing is that when evaluating how the team played in the past couple of Playoffs, we have to build the depth to stay competitive as we can to build for a long, sustainable run; it was inevitable," Stevens said on SiriusXM NBA Radio about the decision to trade Brown.
He added that the process was far from simple.
"For us, it was a really hard decision. There were a lot of things that went into it.
You have two max players, two max usage; those are the things you have to make a decision on... Jaylen's a great player, but I like the team we have."
Now Boston has to face the uncomfortable side of that choice: Brown is in the division, Philadelphia looks dangerous, and the Celtics are no longer the sure thing they once were in a crowded Eastern Conference entering 2026-27.
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76ers Could Have A Veteran Upgrade Fall Right Into Their Lap
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Philadelphia has reason to keep an eye on the situation because Smart would check a lot of boxes for a team thinking bigger than the regular season. The question is whether Houstons guard depth pushes him into an available trade lane, and if so, whether the 76ers are ready to move quickly when a veteran upgrade becomes realistic. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Face A Franchise Defining Joel Embiid Trade Debate
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Still, Embiids impact when he is healthy is hard to dismiss, particularly on the offensive end, and that is why the fit question matters so much for Philadelphia. Davis brings his own elite two-way value, but the case against a swap is straightforward: moving Embiid may not actually move the Sixers meaningfully closer to a title, which is why this discussion feels less like a simple basketball trade and more like a franchise-defining judgment call. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers May Have To Choose Between Two Very Different Trade Needs
The Sixers trade market may not be about splashing for a headline name so much as finding the right kind of help at the right price. With the roster still carrying clear gaps, the most realistic discussions center on reserves who could steady the rotation, and two very different options keep coming up: Charlottes Ryan Kalkbrenner as an affordable center and Dennis Schroder as the more established, and pricier, veteran point guard.
Each brings a different kind of value, which is part of the dilemma for Philadelphia. Kalkbrenner would address frontcourt depth with a low-cost swing, while Schroder would bring more proven guard play but likely ask the team to commit more to get him. For now, it is still about evaluating fit and cost, with no confirmed trade talks to point to, but the Sixers next move may come down to whether they want to patch the middle or the backcourt first. [Read more 🡒]