When it comes to shock factor, only the Luka Doncic trade can compare to the Jaylen Brown situation. For months, insiders were speculating on his next team, only for him to land with the 76ers – an outcome that almost nobody saw coming. Even stranger, the 76ers traded him for Paul George and two first-round picks (along with two seconds).
While we may never know the full story of what happened in Boston, the process wasn’t as quick and simple as it appeared. Before the 76ers won negotiations, the Charlotte Hornets were deeply involved, and NBA insider Brett Siegel says they had a solid offer on the table before they were scared off.
“Charlotte presented an offer involving draft compensation, Miles Bridges (before he was traded to Phoenix), and Naz Reid, sources said. This package was shot down by the Celtics, who wanted Brandon Miller and more than three first-round picks, and so the Hornets moved on to other avenues — shooting down offers for Reid from other teams and trading Bridges to the Suns.”
Analytics paint Brown as overrated, but it didn’t stop teams from making their offers. Contrary to popular belief, there was interest in the 204 Finals MVP across the NBA (at least, initially), but things got complicated when he made it known he didn’t want to suit up for certain franchises. It forced some of the interested teams to back down, diminishing Boston’s leverage even further.
“Brown made it clear whether or not he held interest in playing for certain teams. In talks with the Hornets, among other teams like New Orleans and Brooklyn, Brown made it clear he did not want to be traded there, which added another layer of confusion for the Celtics to all of these trade talks.”
The Nuggets were another team that had interest in Brown at one point, and he would have made a fine addition next to Nikola Jokic. That’s one team he would have gladly accepted joining, but the talks fell apart when Denver refused to offer Jamal Murray in a deal.
“Denver was a team sources say Brown did hold a level of interest in going to, but the Nuggets’ preliminary talks were solely focused on Aaron Gordon and Cam Johnson. Trading Jamal Murray was not on the table for the Nuggets, and with Denver holding zero tradeable draft capital, the Celtics looked elsewhere.”
Between the Hornets, Nets, Pelicans, and Nuggets, there were plenty of suitors for Jaylen Brown, but they were all shot down for various reasons. By the end, the 76ers were the last team left at the table, and that’s why they were able to acquire him so easily.
It’s an undoubtedly tough blow to the Celtics, who went from pursuing Giannis Antetokounmpo and V.J. Edgecombe to settling for Paul George and first-round picks. It’s a lesson that, sometimes, things don’t work out the way you expect. For Jaylen, it’s an opportunity to prove the analytics wrong and show the other teams why they were wrong not to meet the Celtics’ high demands.
