On Monday, Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens sat alongside team owner Bill Chisholm as they addressed the unpopular decision to trade Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Celtics shipped Brown to Philly last Wednesday in exchange for 36-year-old veteran Paul George, two first-round draft picks, and two second-rounders. The deal was widely considered to be lopsided in the Sixers’ favor, especially since it doesn’t do much to help Boston financially over the next two seasons. George is set to make $54.1 million next season and has a $56.6 million player option for 2027-28.
While Stevens understands the uproar, he’s looking at the trade through a long-term lens. Throughout the press conference, he used the word “optionality” to explain why he believes the move will help the organization in the future.
“I think when you use the term ‘optionality’, you’re talking about just length of contract and assets,” Stevens said. “So that’s where the increased optionality comes from.”
Brown’s max contract is set to run through 2028-29, so that’s at least one fewer season of two Celtics players taking up roughly 70 percent of the salary cap.
But why send him to the Eastern Conference rival that ousted you in the first round of this year’s NBA playoffs?
“If I was being honest, if that exact deal came from a team out west and you were comparing the two, then you’d probably take the team out west, but that’s not the way it was working,” Stevens said.
There were plenty of other takeaways from Stevens and Chisholm’s press conference, but Stevens’ “optionality” explanation was chief among them. Chris Forsberg and Tom E. Curran shared their instant reactions to Stevens’ remarks during the latest edition of the Celtics Talk Podcast.
“They were going to perpetually tread water because of the finances,” Curran said. “So when the trade was made, I understood that they weren’t trading for Paul George and picks. The number one, banner headline on the marquee is ‘flexibility.'”
Forsberg also came away from the press conference with a better understanding of what Stevens & Co. are trying to accomplish.
“As it started to digest… I was like, ‘OK, I can see the vision,'” Forsberg said. “It’s certainly not the most robust trade return, and get why people were frustrated by that, but the Celtics essentially got to the point where they just need some flexibility to put this thing back together. I think Brad came in trying to stress that.”
Also in the episode:
- How are you feeling after hearing Brad Stevens and Bill Chisholm?
- Why was there a disconnect between Jaylen Brown and Brad Stevens about the trade conversations?
- Bill Chisholm says the Celtics’ moves are not being driven by money
- How are you feeling if you’re Jayson Tatum?
Watch the full episode of the Celtics Talk Podcast below:
