What Were They Thinking?
Boston Sends Its 2024 Finals MVP to an Archrival
And Philadelphia Then Adds LeBron James
There are trades that make you scratch your head. There are trades that make you yell at the television. And then there are trades that make an entire city ask: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
The Boston Celtics actually traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers — not to some Western Conference team they might see twice a year, but to a longtime Eastern Conference rival.
And this wasn't a declining star being moved at the end of his run. Brown left Boston as a five-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, 2024 NBA Finals MVP and a player coming off career highs of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
Boston sent that guy to Philadelphia.
In return, the Celtics received Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks. Maybe those assets eventually become part of a brilliant long-term plan. Maybe Boston believes the financial flexibility and draft capital were simply too valuable to pass up.
But here's the part that makes Celtics fans want to bang their heads against the Green Monster.
Philadelphia didn't just get Jaylen Brown. Philadelphia became a destination.
Brown joined Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Then LeBron James chose Philadelphia for what he has described as one final championship run. Suddenly the Sixers weren't merely improved. On paper, they had assembled one of the most imposing starting groups in basketball.
Brown. Maxey. LeBron. Edgecombe. Embiid.
The Celtics helped strengthen a rival — and that rival then added LeBron James.
That's what makes this trade such perfect What Were They Thinking? material. Boston knows better than almost any franchise that championships aren't won by collecting names on a spreadsheet. Health, chemistry, defense, sacrifice and coaching will determine whether Philadelphia actually wins anything.
But Boston also knows exactly how valuable Jaylen Brown can be when the games matter most. He proved it in green. He won the Eastern Conference Finals MVP and Finals MVP during Boston's 2024 championship run.
Now the Celtics may eventually have to go through him to get back to the Finals.
Imagine Brown returning to Boston in a Philadelphia uniform, with Embiid in the middle, Maxey flying up the floor and LeBron orchestrating the offense. If that group knocks the Celtics out of the playoffs, nobody in Boston is going to be talking about future draft flexibility.
They're going to be asking one question: WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
Maybe Boston ultimately wins the trade. Maybe Philadelphia's superstar collection never comes together. That's why they play the games.
But today? The Celtics traded a 29-year-old Finals MVP coming off the best statistical season of his career to an archrival — and watched that rival become even more attractive to LeBron James.
Celtics fans have every right to wonder: Did Boston just help build the team that could stand between them and another championship?
Did Boston Help Build the NBA's Best Starting 5?
Welcome to What Were They Thinking? Sometimes there's a master plan. Sometimes we're still trying to figure out what the hell the plan was.
