Boston Celtics
“He never asked out of Boston. This was all the Celtics.”
Jaylen Brown reportedly never requested a trade from Boston. AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File
The Boston Celtics’ shocking decision to trade Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers is looking more and more like the inevitable conclusion to an offseason rife with drama and trade rumors.
But even though Brown had reportedly “grown frustrated” with the Celtics after being linked to multiple trade reports over the past month, Wednesday’s trade was reportedly not of Brown’s doing — at least in terms of asking out from the only NBA franchise he’d ever played for.
Speaking on SportsCenter, ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania reported that Wednesday’s trade was not due to Brown asking for a fresh start elsewhere.
“For the Celtics, where this had come down to is they tried to trade for Giannis [Antetokounmpo]. They offered Jaylen Brown and two unprotected first-round picks for Giannis. They missed out,” Charania said. “But ever since then, you know what’s been interesting? They didn’t just stop the conversations there.
“They continued to have trade talks, and by today they were actively shopping — full-blown shopping — Jaylen Brown around the league, trying to get teams’ best offers in. My understanding is [that] Jaylen Brown, throughout all this, never requested a trade. He never asked out of Boston. This was all the Celtics.”
Had Brown asked out of Boston, it would have seemingly explained the Celtics’ underwhelming return — with the Celtics going from a potential blockbuster deal involving Antetokounmpo to a package that includes 36-year-old Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.
That return falls in line with a report from The Athletic earlier this week, which noted that the Celtics needed to lower their steep asking price for Brown on the open market.
Given those lackluster returns, the case could be made that Boston should have tried to mend fences with Brown and run back a majority of the same roster in 2026-27 — especially if Brown did not outright request a trade.
But, as Brad Stevens and the Celtics continue to uproot foundational pieces of Boston’s roster, it looks as though the Celtics were committed to trading away Brown this offseason — regardless of whether the return was Antetokounmpo or a far less appealing haul of picks and players.
Brown — who will now look to topple the Celtics as an Atlantic Divisional foe in Philly — pushed back on comments made in May that he was frustrated with Boston after a frustrating first-round exit at the hands of … the Sixers.
“First things first, lotta stuff swirling around the Celtics and our organization,” Brown said. “Hate that our president of basketball operations even had to respond to this. Me and Brad [Stevens] have a great relationship. I love Boston. If it was up to me, I’d play in Boston for the next 10 years.”
Clearly, the Celtics felt differently.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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