NBA analyst and Boston Celtics super fan Bill Simmons recently weighed in on the Jaylen Brown trade, and he offered a surprising take. Everyone and their mama has been critical of the Celtics' decision to trade Brown to their rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Rightfully so, it was an awful trade from their perspective, and it could jeopardize their standing in the Eastern Conference. However, Simmons tried to explain the trade by suggesting that the Celtics believe that Paul George, who was acquired in the deal, would be a better fit than Brown.
“They felt like [Paul George] might be a better fit, at this point of Tatum’s career”@BillSimmons on what he thinks was behind the Celtics’ decision to trade Jaylen Brown.
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That strains belief considering that Boston seemingly alienated Brown when they tried to trade him for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Instead, that trade never materialized, and they were forced to trade him later for seemingly pennies on the dollar.
The Boston Celtics' trade of Jaylen Brown still doesn't make sense
It's hard to imagine that a team such as the Portland Trail Blazers didn't make a better offer than the Sixers. Even if they didn't, trading him to an arch-rival was an awful idea.
Not only did it make them much better, but it also set the table for them to sign LeBron James. That makes the trade even worse for Boston in retrospect.
Now, they are at least the third- or fourth-best team in the Eastern Conference, clearly far behind the New York Knicks and Sixers. For a team that went to six Eastern Conference Finals in nine seasons, that's a tough pill to swallow. However, it's their new reality after trading Brown.
The Celtics received far too little for their best player
The biggest problem with the Brown trade was the return. George actually played very well late last season and in the playoffs, but he's 37 years old and on an awful contract.
He could still help the Celtics, but he's nowhere near the level of player that Brown is. Remember, Brown finished third in MVP voting last season and helped the Celtics to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
Of course, they were upset by the 76ers in the first round of the NBA playoffs. However, they compounded that embarrassing loss by trading arguably their best player to Philadelphia and making them a super team. Even if George is a surprisingly good fit in Boston, it doesn't change that fact.
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