The Boston Celtics have chosen to cut ties with Jaylen Brown this offseason, stunningly trading the star forward to the rival Philadelphia 76ers. Brown had spent 10 seasons with the Celtics, and franchise legend Robert Parish said during an appearance on SiriusXM NBA Radio that he did enough to have his jersey retired.
“Hopefully, Jaylen nor the Boston Celtics will harbor any animosity towards the other,” Parish said. “Hopefully, they can let this go and move on and on down the road, when Jaylen careers over, or on the verge of being over, when he’s on the downside of his career, I’m hopeful that the Boston Celtics will decide to hang his jersey from the rafters because he deserved it.
“He earned it and the impact that he had on the organization and on the team, plus, he was an intricate part of their championship run,” Parish added.
The Celtics are one of the greatest franchises in the NBA, so you have to do a lot to have your jersey retired by them. Did Brown do enough for his No. 7 to be up in the rafters? Well, Parish is one of those to have been given that honor, with his No. 00 being retired by the Celtics on Jan. 18, 1998. If he thinks Brown belongs with him and the rest of the Celtics icons, who are we to argue?
Brown did have a very successful stint with the Celtics. They selected him with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, and he’d become one of the franchise’s cornerstones.
Brown averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in his Celtics career. The highlight of his time there was, of course, leading them to the NBA championship in 2024. Brown was named Finals MVP as the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in five games to clinch the title. Imagine telling someone at the time that he’d be gone in two years.
Not only that, but Brown just had the best season of his career, too. The five-time All-Star averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26, and finished sixth in MVP voting.
The Celtics still chose to part ways with Brown. They sent him to the 76ers for Paul George, a 2028 first-round pick, a 2031 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick, and a 2030 second-round pick. That’s a pretty terrible return.
Brown has made it clear he isn’t happy with how the Celtics handled this situation. Parish is hoping there is no animosity, but the 29-year-old feels disrespected. Time does heal all wounds, so perhaps ill feelings will go away as the years pass.
As for Parish’s thoughts on the trade, he isn’t a fan.
“I’m sure moving that contract gave the Celtics some more maneuvering room to add other pieces or new pieces,” Parish said. “[I] understand that, I still do not like it. When I first heard about it, the first thing I thought about was the Dallas Mavericks when they moved Luka [Doncic]. Just historically a bad move, and I felt the same way about hearing about Jaylen being moved to the 76ers.
“Not to mention in the same division, which was a head scratcher for me,” Parish added. “But I’m sure the Celtics have their reasons for moving Jaylen and deciding to go in another direction.”
Now, this Brown trade is being called the worst since the Mavericks sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2025. Everyone believed they had made a huge mistake, and that has indeed proven to be the case.
It’s hard to see a scenario where we aren’t saying the Celtics got it wrong. Trading Brown necessarily wouldn’t have been a blunder, but that return simply isn’t good enough. The Celtics aren’t going to be challenging for the title with what they have now. Whatever pieces they’re eventually able to add as a result of this Brown trade better be great.
