Jaylen Brown traded to 76ers: Basketball world reacts after jaw-dropping Celtics deal, including Tyrese Maxey

The Boston Celtics were gunning for Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer. They swung and missed and, about a week later, ended up with Paul George in another blockbuster trade that’s causing basketball pundits and fans everywhere to scratch their heads.

After dangling five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown as a trade chip during the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, the Celtics didn’t stop discussing dealing Brown, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania, who reported Wednesday that, eventually, Boston was “full-blown shopping” Brown around the league, despite, to Charania’s understanding, Brown never requesting a trade.

Brad Stevens, former Celtics head coach and current president of basketball operations of the franchise he helped win a championship just two years ago, ultimately decided to send Brown, 29, to the rival Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for a 36-year-old George and four picks, according to Charania.

Here’s the full compensation Boston reportedly received: a 2028 first-round pick that could convert from a first to a swap that is more favorable to the Celtics, a 2031 unprotected Sixers first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick (most favorable of the Golden State Warriors, Oklahoma City Thunder and Milwaukee Bucks) and a 2030 second-round pick (most favorable of the Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns).

Basketball world, including Sixers PG Tyrese Maxey, reacts

There hasn’t been a shortage of reactions to a trade that’s vexing to most. Sixers two-time All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey even chimed amid the immediate aftermath of the report taking over social media feeds.

“The nba is doing that THING AGAIN!” Maxey wrote on X.

Maxey’s Sixers ousted Brown’s Celtics in the first round of the playoff this past season. Philadelphia completed its first 3-1 playoff comeback and took down Boston in the playoffs for the first time since 1982. Afterward, Brown recorded an infamous Twitch stream, in which he accused of now-teammate Joel Embiid of flopping. That said, Brown also characterized Embiid as one of the best bigs in basketball history.

Speaking of Embiid and Maxey, they were on the court with George — all three of them together — for just 36 regular-season games over the two seasons George was with the Sixers, per NBA stats guru Keerthika Uthayakumar. George, a nine-time All-Star and six-time All-NBA selection, inked a maximum four-year, $212 million contract with the Sixers in the summer of 2024.

Former NBA veteran Quentin Richardson said on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” Wednesday night that he actually likes the trade for both the Sixers and the Celtics.

“It was kind of obvious that after Boston wasn’t able to get Giannis and move Jaylen in that trade, it seemed like they definitely kicked into gear, and they decided that they were going to move on from him,” said Richardson, who later also complimented Boston for adding center Mitchell Robinson and guard Mike Conley Jr. in free agency.

“To be able to get two first rounds, two second rounds — and, listen, I know everybody may look however about PG, but the one thing that we got to know [is that] when he’s healthy, he’s still a big-time player.”

The problem is, George hasn’t been healthy often in recent years. In fact, he’s played 60-plus games once in the past seven regular seasons. That’s one reason why Richardson’s in the minority on Wednesday.

Another former NBA veteran quickly voiced his opinion on the subject, too. Patrick Beverley took to Instagram to express his displeasure.

“No, I don’t like that,” he said. “I don’t like how Boston just did Jaylen Brown. I don’t like that. That man’s been healthy. That man’s played both sides of the ball. That man’s won a championship in Boston. His running mate goes down with an Achilles. He steps up, still leads the team. Y’all trade him because of some s*** he said in the media? I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all.”

Beverley, of course, was alluding to Brown rising to the occasion in absence of Jayson Tatum for much of the 2025-26 campaign, a season Brown controversially described as his “favorite year” of his basketball career in the fallout of the 2024 NBA Finals MVP’s first-round exit from the playoffs.

Several reporters demonstrated their shock after the news surfaced. Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor called the acquisition of Brown a “hell of an upgrade for the Sixers.”

“As for the Celtics: YIKES!” he wrote on X.

O’Connor’s colleagues reacted similarly, with Steve Jones putting things into perspective with a head-turning post on X:

“So the Knicks won the title, the Raptors got Kawhi Leonard, the Sixers beat you in the playoffs and you trade them Jaylen Brown,” Jones wrote. Ben Rohrbach said he “never thought the Celtics could bungle this so badly.”

The Athletic’s David Aldridge depicted the trade as “a stunner.”

Jeff Goodman, a longtime basketball reporter who mainly covers the college game for The Field of 68 these days, said he is “beyond SHOCKED” Stevens agreed to the deal.

“This was highway robbery,” an NBA GM told The Field of 68, Goodman reported. “I have no idea what Brad Stevens was thinking. The Celtics will be lucky to get in the play-in next year.”

Local media also pointed out the other side of things, the non-basketball component of the transaction. Boston is losing an established sports figure who was a valuable member of the community for a decade after the Celtics drafted him out of Cal with the third overall pick in 2016. CelticsBlog’s Noa Dalzell illustrated that impact here.

More reactions are pouring in by the minute. It’s already clear this trade will be discussed for days, weeks, probably the rest of the summer and maybe even for years to come.

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