The Boston Celtics watched the Philadelphia 76ers eliminate them in seven games during the first round of the 2026 playoffs. Boston became the first team in Celtics history to surrender a 3-1 series lead. The loss ended a 56-win season that Jaylen Brown carried almost entirely on his own, with Jayson Tatum sidelined for most of the year recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Two months later, the Celtics responded by sending Brown to the same team that just beat them. Boston traded its homegrown Finals MVP to Philadelphia for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round selections on Wednesday night.
The reaction from former Celtics was immediate. And it was not kind.
Former Celtic Rips Boston
Former Celtics center and NBA analyst Kendrick Perkins did not hold back when addressing the deal.
“This is a sad day for the Boston Celtics,” Perkins said. “And as a former Celtic, I do not approve of this trade. Paul George hasn’t been consistently good since I was skinny.”
Perkins was not finished. He directed pointed criticism at Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens, arguing that by trading Brown to a rival that already proved it could beat Boston, Stevens had done the 76ers an enormous favor.
“He just basically handed the Philadelphia 76ers a trip to the NBA Finals next year,” Perkins said.
The criticism reflected what much of the basketball world was already thinking. A homegrown franchise superstar and Finals MVP traded away for a measly return.
The Weight of What the Celtics Lost
Brown put up 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game in 2025-26, a season that surpassed anything he had produced in his first nine years. He finished sixth in MVP voting after earning his fifth All-Star nod. He won the 2024 Finals MVP while helping deliver Banner 18. No player in the league won more combined regular season and playoff games over the past decade than Brown.
The return did not sit well around the league. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that multiple executives believed the trade was made under duress. ESPN’s Bobby Marks argued that Philadelphia essentially acquired Brown for free given that the market for George was so poor the 76ers would have needed to attach a first-round pick just to move his contract elsewhere.
Boston’s asking price started at four to five first-round picks and a young player in the caliber of VJ Edgecombe. The final return was George, two firsts, and two seconds. The Celtics lost leverage the moment the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade fell through, and the 76ers stayed patient long enough to benefit.
GettyJaylen Brown.
What Brown Leaves Behind
This was not Brown’s decision. ESPN’s Shams Charania confirmed as much on SportsCenter, reporting that Brown never asked out of Boston. As recently as May, Brown said on a Twitch stream that he loved the city and would stay for the next 10 years if it were up to him.
Beyond basketball, Brown invested in Boston through his 7uice Foundation and the Boston XChange incubator. Draft night in 2016 greeted him with boos. He departed as a champion and a Finals MVP.
Now he joins Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Edgecombe in Philadelphia. The team that ended Boston’s season just got better.
GettyJaylen Brown, 2024 Finals MVP.
Final Word for the Celtics
Brown gave Boston everything. A decade of winning. A championship. A career year when nobody expected one. Stevens and the front office decided it was time to move on anyway, and the return does not match the player they gave away.
Perkins saw it clearly. So did the rest of the league.
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