The Boston Celtics decided to end the Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum era in one instant right after free agency started, sending Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in a blockbuster deal that, for sure, not even the most optimistic Sixers fan expected to get done.
Paul George, two future first-round picks and two future second-round picks was the return for the Celtics in exchange for their 2024 Finals MVP, who was coming off the best regular season of his career, posting 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game on 47.7% from the field and 34.7% from three, finishing sixth in MVP voting and carrying the team with Tatum sidelined for most of the season.
Now the Celtics boast a team with Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Paul George, Jayson Tatum and Mitchell Robinson, who they stole from the Knicks in free agency with a three-year, $47.4 million deal. But while the team is good, there is clearly a step back in their contender status with George, who ended the season playing just 37 games and averaging 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.7 steals per game on 43.9% from the field.
The team could be much better, and with George earning $54.1 million this season and holding a $56.6 million player option for the next one, they could very well flip him and the future picks for extra contending assets with a deal centered around the Pelicans’ best players.
That is where Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones become the kind of target that actually makes sense. The Celtics wouldn’t be getting one big name just to sell headlines, but two high-level wings who fit better around Tatum, White, Pritchard and Robinson, giving Boston more defense, more shooting, more size and less old-man risk than keeping George as the main piece after moving Brown.
The Mock Trade Framework
Boston Celtics Receive: Trey Murphy III, Herb Jones, Jordan Hawkins, Saddiq Bey
New Orleans Pelicans Receive: Paul George, 2027 first-round pick, 2028 first-round pick (76ers or Clippers), 2030 first-round pick, 2031 first-round pick (76ers), 2033 first-round pick, 2028 second-round pick (Warriors, Bucks or Thunder), 2030 second-round pick (Suns, Blazers or Wizards)
Financially, the Pelicans would have to add more than Trey Murphy III and Herb Jones. Paul George is making $54.1 million this season, and because he has a 15.0% trade kicker, his outgoing number moves close to $57.7 million.
Murphy is at $27.0 million and Jones is at $14.9 million, so that is only $41.9 million combined for 2026-27. Adding Jordan Hawkins at $7.0 million and Saddiq Bey at $6.6 million pushes the Pelicans’ outgoing salary to $55.5 million, which gets the deal close enough without needing to make the trade too weird.
That is also why the draft cost has to be insane. George is not a star asset anymore around the league. He is 36, expensive, and has a $56.6 million player option for next season, so the Pelicans would be eating a heavy contract while giving up two of their best wing pieces. The Celtics would have to send the two first-round picks they got from the Brown trade, which are the 2028 first-round pick from the 76ers or Clippers and the 2031 unprotected 76ers first-round pick, plus their own 2027, 2030, and 2033 first-round picks.
Boston would also add the two second-round picks from the Brown trade: the 2028 second-round pick from the Warriors, Bucks or Thunder, whichever is most favorable, and the 2030 second-round pick from the Suns, Blazers or Wizards, whichever is most favorable. So the final price is George, five first-round picks, and two second-round picks for Murphy, Jones, Hawkins, and Bey. It is a monster package, but that is the point. The Celtics wouldn’t just be dumping George. They would be turning the Brown return into a younger wing core that fits much better around Tatum.
Why The Celtics Would Cook With This Trade
This trade works for Boston because it fixes the one thing this roster with Paul George is missing: younger wings who show up every night, defend, shoot, and move the ball without needing 25 dribbles to get going. George is still a recognizable name, but Boston doesn’t need that right now, but players who fit around Tatum without slowing the whole team down.
Trey Murphy III checks that box easily. He just put up 21.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 3.8 assists on 47.0% shooting from the field and 37.9% from three on 8.6 attempts per night, so he’s not some corner-standing 3-and-D guy, but a legitimate weapon.
Murphy gives Boston a wing who can space the floor from deep, attack closeouts, run in transition, and punish weaker defenders without dominating the ball. That matters because Tatum’s still the top option, White’s still the connector, and Pritchard needs room to operate. Slot him next to Tatum and White, with Robinson setting screens and rolling to the rim, and Boston no longer needs George to play like it’s 2019 for the Brown trade to be an accepted decision.
Herb Jones is what makes the deal nasty. His offense was rough this year at 8.9 points a game on 38.3% shooting and 30.9% from three, so nobody’s pretending he’s an offensive product. But he still averages 1.6 steals, has elite hands on defense, and guards stars at a high level. Boston lost real toughness moving Jaylen Brown, so adding Jones isn’t a luxury; it’s another wing who can take the toughest cover and let Tatum save energy for offense.
What’s nice is that Murphy and Jones don’t step on each other. Murphy’s the scorer, Jones is the stopper, White handles the guards and the playmaking, Tatum’s the engine, and Robinson protects the rim and cleans the glass. That’s a balanced group. Throw in Jordan Hawkins for bench shooting and Saddiq Bey for reliable forward minutes, and you’ve got a roster that’s not as star-driven as the Brown-Tatum era, but is deeper, younger, faster, and a lot less dependent on George staying healthy for 70 games and then surviving three playoff rounds.
It also keeps Boston honest about where it stands. George can’t put up enough production to be the No. 2 option after trading Brown at this stage of his career. Murphy isn’t Brown, but he’s younger, cheaper, more explosive, and far easier to build around. Jones isn’t a star, but he’s exactly the kind of defender every contender wants alive in a May playoff series. So yes, giving up five first-round picks sounds excessive, but keeping George and calling that “fine” would be the bigger mistake.
Why The Pelicans Might Jump Into It
New Orleans might actually go for this because, at some point, they have to stop treating this core like it’s too good to touch. They finished 26-56, 11th in the West, with a roster stuck with too many expensive pieces, too many injuries, and too much misplaced patience. Reports from Marc Stein and Jake Fischer have tied any Murphy or Jones return to Desmond Bane-level compensation around 3 or 4 future picks, which is a fair asking price. But if Boston’s really offering five firsts and two seconds, that’s the kind of package they’ve been holding out for.
George isn’t really the prize for New Orleans. Nobody there thinks a 36-year-old coming off a 37-game season is the answer. He’s got a $56.6 million player option next year, and that’s exactly why the picks had to be this heavy. The Pelicans absorb the contract, move off Murphy and Jones, and walk away with a draft haul that finally gives them a real path forward. George becomes a trade chip, a one-year vet, or eventually a salary filler for a team chasing a playoff run.
The money side helps too. George’s deal is movable by 2027 if they flip him again or ride out the option, while Murphy’s just starting a long-term contract and Jones is locked in as well. New Orleans takes some short-term pain, but gets a much cleaner runway instead of running it back at 26 wins and having the same conversation again next summer. That’s been the core issue: every rotation piece gets treated as untouchable, even while the record says otherwise.
The Yves Missi situation says it all. The Knicks reportedly tried to pry him loose after losing Robinson, and Chris Haynes reported New Orleans turned them down more than once because they view Missi as a core piece.
Sure, he’s young, cheap, 6-11, and averaged 5.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks, so the “untouchable” part is just hard to see. But if Missi’s off-limits, and Murphy’s nearly off-limits, and Jones is nearly off-limits, and Zion’s still treated like the untouchable centerpiece, then what exactly is the plan after a 26-win season?
That’s why this trade makes sense even if it looks lopsided on paper. Take the picks, reset the timeline, and stop acting like this group is one healthy stretch away from scaring anybody in the West. If five first-rounders are really on the table for Murphy and Jones, take the deal and start fielding calls on Zion, Jordan Poole, Dejounte Murray… whoever else can bring back value. There’s no cute way to say it anymore. New Orleans needs to move, because standing still has already been tried, and the result was 26 wins.
