Blockbuster trade: Jaylen Brown joins the 76ers!
WOW! After news of the Boston Celtics shopping around Jaylen Brown, a deal has been finalised between the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Full Trade Details:
76ers Receive: Jaylen Brown
Celtics Receive: Paul George, two first-round picks, two second-round picks
Whilst news about the picks is still to be finalised, five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown will be heading to Philadelphia in the first blockbuster move of Mike Gansey's career as part of the Sixers organisation. Jaylen Brown, whose Celtics were eliminated by the 76ers in the first round of last year's playoffs, will team up with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Joel Embiid. What was initially thought of as a negative asset in Paul George is the key centrepiece in trading for the former Finals MVP.
The 76ers get a reliable three-and-D superstar who is in the prime of his career, joining an already emerging team. It is clear the focus of the Philadelphia 76ers has shifted to building around the star-studded backcourt of Maxey and Edgecombe, and trading the 36-year-old Paul George reinforces these narratives as they shift towards a youth movement. After the loss of Kelly Oubre and Quinten Grimes earlier in the day, the 76ers lacked a go-to perimeter defender, as these two would take on the hardest matchups each night. In addition to adding Dean Wade, who is an incredible workhorse defender, Jaylen Brown can provide excellent defensive coverage taking the best player each night. The Sixers now have a plethora of offensive firepower, and it will be interesting to see how the shots are divided amongst the superstars on this roster. This will further reinforce Wade as a good signing, as his impact is best without the ball in his hands. While the Sixers still have some work to do with their bench, they are starting to shape up as one of the premier contenders in the Eastern Conference.
As more details are needed to find out how this trade shapes up for the Celtics, this deal confuses me. It has been evident that after not being able to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown was still being heavily shopped around the league. For Celtics fans, they will be hoping that the first-round picks they received originated from the Clippers, which the Sixers got from trading James Harden — though it still doesn't guarantee an All-NBA or even All-Star calibre player. Even though George made strides last season in returning to previous form, it still didn't quite add up to the money in his contract. It is now being reported that the Celtics inquired about also receiving VJ Edgecombe in this trade, which the Sixers ended up shutting down. The Celtics, being the Celtics, are still bound to make some noise and compete next season, but they lost a fan favourite and a player who took a massive leap last year in Tatum's absence.
This off-season just continues to become one of the craziest off-seasons of all time. The new CBA has helped to see these moves eventuate and has also given us eight different champions in the last eight years. A lot of negativity has been directed towards Adam Silver, but I think he has created an NBA that is wide open and can be anyone's year, each and every season. Follow along with us as this off-season has only just begun!
— JB