Boston Celtics
Jaylen Brown’s final months with the Celtics were rife with trade rumors, Twitch streams, and back-and-forth beefs with media pundits.
Jaylen Brown was reportedly traded to Philly on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Jim Davis)
July 2, 2026 | 7:18 AM
15 minutes to read
The Boston Celtics were seemingly operating with house money entering the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
Not only had Jaylen Brown led an apparently retooling Celtics roster to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, but Boston looked poised to go on a run in a wide-open playoff field — especially with Jayson Tatum back on the hardwood.
Instead, the Celtics squandered a 3-1 series lead to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. And now, a little less than two months later, Brown is a member of the 76ers.
The Celtics made the shocking call to uproot one of the foundational pieces of their decade-long contending core on Wednesday — dealing Brown to Philadelphia in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.
It marks the end of one of the more fruitful chapters in the Celtics’ storied history — and the conclusion to an offseason storyline filled with trade rumors and drama.
Here’s a summary of all that transpired between the Celtics and the 2024 NBA Finals MVP over the last few months.
May 2: Celtics fall to Sixers in Game 7
A season that initially started with so much dread — only to be buoyed by a scrappy, overachieving roster — was once again deflated at TD Garden on May 2.
For the first time in Celtics franchise history, Boston relinquished a 3-1 series lead in a playoff bout — losing to a Sixers team that was promptly swept by the eventual NBA champion Knicks in the next round.
The Celtics — who played without an injured Tatum in the win-or-go-home bout — were led by Brown, who finished with 33 points, nine rebounds, and four assists in what ended up being his final game with Boston.
“Man, I’m so grateful to be with this group,” Brown said after Boston’s season came to a close. “This group was awesome. I had a fun year. This is probably one of my most fun years playing basketball.”
May 3: Brown takes to Twitch, deems 2025-26 season as his ‘favorite’
Just a day after Brown and the Celtics saw their season come to a close against the Sixers, he generated plenty of headlines for his candid comments on one of his Twitch streams.
While Brown praised his teammates for turning what was once thought of as a lost year into the No. 2 seed in the East, he also didn’t pull punches while talking about Sixers center Joel Embiid.
“Flopping has ruined our game,” Brown said. “Joel Embiid is a great player, one of the best bigs in basketball history. He flops. He knows it. It’s not breaking news.”
“Flopping has ruined our league. Joel Embiid is one of the greatest players that has played basketball, but he flops. He knows it too”
Jaylen Brown talking about his new teammate, Joel Embiid, just 2 months ago after being eliminated by the 76ers 👀 pic.twitter.com/NGYmWkfrdE
— Underdog (@Underdog) July 1, 2026
Brown also accused the officials of “targeting” him throughout the series, harping on several push-off calls and other rulings that went against him during that seven-game bout with Philly.
“They clearly had an agenda,” Brown said. “They clearly had on the red board, if Jaylen does this move, call an offensive foul on him every time. I don’t know if it’s because I pissed the refs off, I’ve been critical about them a bunch of times, and they were like in the playoffs, ‘You know what? I got you — watch this.’ That’s exactly what they did.”
Ultimately, the NBA fined Brown $50,000 for his comments criticizing the officials.
Brown’s comments about Embiid and the Sixers drew plenty of criticism, with Warriors forward Draymond Green labeling it as “excuse-making” in wake of a series defeat, while ESPN pundit Stephen A. Smith deemed the remarks as an “awful look”.
It wouldn’t be the first time that Brown and Smith would trade barbs this offseason, especially when it came to Brown labeling the 2025-26 campaign as his “favorite” with Boston.
May 5: McGrady says that Brown has ‘frustration’ with Celtics
Despite reaching new heights in 2025-26 as Boston’s top scoring option with Tatum largely sidelined, Brown found himself in the middle of some interesting discourse about his relationship with the only NBA franchise he’d ever played for (until now).
During a May 5 episode of the podcast “Cousins,” NBA Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady said he heard that Brown might have some qualms with the Celtics after he wrapped up his 10th year with the team.
“I think his frustration lies deeply within the organization and other things that we don’t have the details [of],” McGrady said. “There’s just been a lot of stuff that I’ve been hearing going on with the Boston organization with J.B.
“So, I think part of [it] with him was like, ‘I showed you guys more as a basketball player,’ not only just what I did on the basketball court, but also the leadership I displayed with this team. You saw that with us not having our best player in [Jayson Tatum]. You’ve seen a different side of what I’m able to bring to the game of basketball.”
McGrady’s comments came at a rough time for Brad Stevens and the Celtics, as Boston’s president of basketball operations was asked about his relationship with Brown the very next day during his end-of-season press conference.
“I talked to Jaylen on Monday real quickly and it was nothing but positive,” Stevens said. “He has not expressed those frustrations to me. We’ve been here ten years together.”
That prompted Brown to take to Twitch again to both push back against McGrady’s musings, while also stressing that he wanted to remain with the Celtics.
“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 have a great relationship. I love Boston. If it was up to me, I’d play in Boston for the next 10 years. I’ll say it again: I hate that Brad even had to respond to this.”
10 minutes of Jaylen Brown addressing his recent comments:
“I hate that our president of basketball operations even had to respond to this. Me and Brad have a great relationship. I love Boston. If it was up to me I could play in Boston for the next 10 years.”
“We fought… pic.twitter.com/CfF9ufxG1P
— Celtics on CLNS (@CelticsCLNS) May 7, 2026
Beyond issuing his commitment to staying in Boston, Brown also responded to the criticism he invited when he said the 2025-26 campaign was the favorite of his career.
Brown’s comments raised a few eyebrows — especially given Boston’s first-round exit at the hands of the Sixers, the fact that Brown won an NBA title and took home NBA Finals MVP in 2024, and the optics of Brown relishing a season where Tatum was primarily sidelined due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.
But Brown doubled down in his comments, saying that his reason for holding such a high affinity for this past year was due to the collective growth of Boston’s roster.
“I mean, we blew a 3-1 lead, and yeah — we lost in the first round. We didn’t win a championship,” Brown said. “But the amount of growth, the expectations that these same [critics] have for us, is why this was my favorite year, because I got to see it in practice. … The expectations were for this team was to fail. The expectations was the team [would] be nothing, just to give in to and to quit. And this team did the exact opposite. We fought every single day. We fought for everything.
“I got to see Jayson Tatum come back from an injury, mentally overcome what [it] takes … this is a part of the reason why this was my favorite year. You got to see all of these guys, all of my teammates, grow. I got to see them overcome adversity as a group, up close and personal. And even though we didn’t accomplish what we accomplished, no excuse.
“I’m not making no excuses. Obviously, the result — we’re not satisfied with the result. . … But to fight and maneuver through adversity and grow and galvanize with a bunch of guys and have that mindset and approach, this was my favorite year. I wouldn’t say by far. By far would be a stretch, because obviously, winning the championship is great, but I’m telling y’all, this was my favorite season.”
May 7: Brown tells Stephen A. Smith to ‘be quiet‘
In what is now an ominous statement, Stephen A. Smith harped on Brown for needing to “be quiet … unless he wants to get traded” during a spot on ESPN’s “First Take.”
It didn’t take very long for Brown to respond on social media.
“I’ll ‘be quiet’ / stop streaming if you ‘be quiet’ and retire let’s give the people what they want,” Brown posted to X.
I’ll “be quiet” / stop streaming if you “be quiet” and retire let’s give the people what they want https://t.co/uRiHDyvIHo
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) May 7, 2026
In what became a regular trend throughout the summer, Smith added a retort of his own after Brown’s challenge.
“Bro, I got love for you so I’m not going to even go there. Folks are looking out for you and you don’t even realize it. Here you are making this kind of noise and it hasn’t even been a week since you lost a 3-1 lead. You’re HOME,” Smith posted to X. “A champion and a Finals MVP saying his favorite season is the season he’s home in the FIRST ROUND. This is not about ME. It’s about YOU….and what YOU SAID. Enjoy your offseason.”
Brown, in fact, did not enjoy his offseason.
May 17: Brown curses out Stephen A. Smith, ESPN
Brown once again ratcheted up his beef with Smith and ESPN on another Twitch stream later in May — taking umbrage with the pundit’s consternation over Brown’s comments about his love for the 2025-26 Celtics season.
Note: Brown uses strong language in the video.
Celtics star Jaylen Brown goes OFF on Stephen A Smith for questioning why Jayson Tatum wasn’t on his stream and making his own narratives about why the 2025-2026 Celtics season was JB’s favorite 😳👀
“What type of journalism is this?… F*CK Stephen A… My offer still wants. You… pic.twitter.com/XAqaJ6YJYZ
— Slime🐍 (@ItsKingSlime) May 18, 2026
“Man, f— Stephen A. Stephen A, Stephen B, Stephen C,” Brown said after pausing the clip once Smith said that Brown needs to “be quiet.” “My offer still stands. You want me to be quiet and stop streaming? Well, I want you to be quiet and get off these networks. Because you’re not using your platform to do real journalism. You’re using your platform to use clickbait.”
While running through a clip of Smith talking about Brown on “First Take”, the Celtics star in particular was irked over Smith’s insinuation that Jayson Tatum had grown tired of Brown, considering he appeared on an episode of “First Take” instead of an episode of Brown’s Twitch stream.
“What type of journalism is this?” Brown asked. “Jayson Tatum hasn’t been on my stream, and this is what we’re talking about on First Take? What if [Tatum] just don’t like being somewhere in an uncontrolled environment? Why are you doing journalism on me having guests on my stream? And this is a part of the reason why I started streaming. This is a part of the reason why people use the term ‘clown,’ and it synchronizes with someone like Stephen A. Smith. Because this is what you’re using your platform for. What are you talking about?”
“This is a narrative that he’s creating. This isn’t journalism,” Brown continued. “This is him making his own opinion and [formulating] it about what I have to say, on his platform. And this is why, respectfully, a lot of people say, ‘F— Stephen A.’ Because this is the type of stuff he does, and then he doesn’t recognize it.”
May 24: Brown challenges Smith to a debate
Brown continued his war of words against Smith and the media in another live stream on May 24.
”Stephen A., here’s my proposal,” Brown said. “Why don’t we have a live audience debate, traditional media versus us athletes? And let’s do a live debate in front of a live-streamed audience at a mutual location like Harvard or MIT, and let’s talk about it. Let’s see who comes out on top. Should be easy. Should be a piece of cake.”
”Mainstream traditional media versus the athlete. Let’s set it up. Harvard, MIT, live and let’s see who comes out on top. You know where to find me. We know where to contact my team. Let’s set up a live debate at a mutual location and let’s talk about it. Traditional vs. untraditional. Mainstream media vs. the dumb jock. Let’s see who comes out on top.”
June 22: Celtics reportedly offer up Brown in Giannis trade talks
After things had seemingly smoothed over between Brown and Smith, the Celtics once again put Brown in the spotlight as part of their pursuit of Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo.
As both the Celtics and Heat made their pitches for the two-time MVP, ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst said that Brown was the centerpiece of Boston’s trade offer as they negotiated with Milwaukee.
“The Celtics and the [Miami Heat] are the two teams that are aggressively going after Giannis, I would say they are the finalists,” Windhorst said. “If Giannis is going to be traded in the next 24 hours, which I think is a good chance of happening, it’s either going to be to Boston or Miami.
“[Boston] was very cautious about putting Jaylen Brown in an official firm offer,” he added. “I believe they have. Jaylen Brown is on the table and I believe Jaylen Brown could get traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo in the short term.”
June 22: Brown acknowledges trade rumors
As both the Celtics and Heat made their top pitches to the Bucks in hopes of acquiring Antetokounmpo, Brown was upfront on a Twitch stream with U.S. Olympic sprinter Noah Lyles about the criticism he’s received.
”Somewhat grateful, because I get to see some negativity that I didn’t want. But that just gives more fuel to the fire,” Brown said on his Twitch stream about being linked to trade rumors. “I see some comments, or takes, that I didn’t even care to see, but it just gives me more fuel to the fire.
“To all the people who have doubted me, that want me to do this or want me gone, you’re turning me into a monster.”
Jaylen Brown just now on his Twitch stream as the Celtics are in active trade negotiations for Giannis Antetokounmpo:
“To all the people that’s doubted me, that want me to do this, or want me (traded), you’re turning me into a monster.” pic.twitter.com/EJcf1l3NkZ
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) June 22, 2026
June 22: Celtics lose out on Giannis sweepstakes
After weeks of speculation, the Celtics came up just short in their pursuit of Antetokounmpo, with Milwaukee reportedly trading the two-time MVP to the Miami Heat in a blockbuster deal.
Per ESPN insider Shams Charania, Milwaukee dealt Antetokounmpo and Bobby Portis to Miami in exchange for Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round picks (including No. 13), one pick swap, and one second-round selection.
Charania further added that Brown was indeed the centerpiece of Boston’s pitch to Milwaukee for Antetokounmpo.
“The Celtics aggressively pursued Giannis, offering Milwaukee a package featuring 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks, sources tell ESPN,” Charania posted on X. “The Bucks seriously negotiated with two finalists in recent weeks: Miami and Boston, which were both on Antetokounmpo’s list of preferred destinations.”
The Celtics aggressively pursued Giannis, offering Milwaukee a package featuring 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown and two first-round picks, sources tell ESPN. The Bucks seriously negotiated with two finalists in recent weeks: Miami and Boston, which were both on Antetokounmpo’s list… https://t.co/BVY37MwP4K
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 23, 2026
Despite losing out on the Antetokounmpo trade, it quickly became evident that Boston was ready to pivot in short order when it came to Brown’s future with the Celtics.
June 23: Celtics begin a “bidding war”
The day after the Antetokounmpo trade was reported, the Celtics reportedly didn’t waste much time when it came to doubling its efforts to move on from Brown.
“Boston is in a situation where they have put to the whole world out there that Jaylen Brown, their Finals MVP, [was available],” ESPN’s Windhorst said. “They of course knew it was possible they were going to lose to Miami. They wanted to win, they made a very strong offer, but they were not willing to put their entire team in because on the other side of this trade they had to have a team.”
“So, now, what I expect to happen is a bidding war for Jaylen Brown [from] other teams in the league. In the most recent days, teams have been preparing for this eventuality that it wouldn’t be the Boston Celtics who won the Giannis sweepstakes and there would be a Jaylen Brown market.”
As the Celtics canvased the rest of the NBA to try and find a suitor for Brown, longtime Boston sports scribe Bill Simmons had a bad feeling about the coming day.
“I don’t think [the Celtics] would have entertained this at the end of the season,” Simmons said on his podcast. “I think something definitely shifted as we went along, and I am not convinced he’s going to be on the team in October. I think it’s 50/50.”
June 24: ‘Very good chance’ Brown wasn’t returning to Celtics
Speaking at the 2026 NBA Draft, ESPN’s Windhorst was pretty declarative when it came to Brown’s murky future with the Celtics.
“Brad Stevens said a lot of very nice and respectful things, but he never said he wasn’t trading [Brown]. … The Celtics got into the bidding for Giannis, but not into a bidding war, which means they knew there was a possibility that they would not be able to execute that trade,” Windhorst said last week. “Which means that they knew there’d be potentially other trades that they would make.
“And, my speculation is, they do have another list with other teams that they’ll be talking to. And, I would believe there’s a very good chance Jaylen Brown is going to be elsewhere at the start of next season.”
June 24: Stevens noncommittal over Brown’s future in Boston
Just days after the Celtics lost out on the Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, Stevens didn’t exactly give the strongest vote of confidence over Brown’s future with the Celtics.
“Jaylen Brown is a big part of us. I’m never going to predict the future, but, like, every indication, everything that I think about over the past few years has been building around those guys, right? So, obviously you never know,” Stevens said. “I think the one thing that I want to make very clear is how valued he has always been.
“He has been amazing. He has been an amazing teammate, great person to be around. Whether that run ends 10 years from now when he retires or before, there’s a lot to celebrate. “We have a great relationship and an open relationship where we talk about everything, but I don’t want to predict the future. I look at it as this is our team.”
Brown’s standing across the NBA was seemingly put under the microscope amid all these trade rumors, with NBA insider and former Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks snagging plenty of headlines with his comments about the Celtics star and his true value.
“There’s mixed feelings about [Brown],” Marks said on Sirius XM on Saturday. “The analytics on Jaylen Brown is not good … I had an analytics guy tell me, ‘we view Brown as the seventh-best player on an NBA team’.”
As expected, Brown took to X to respond to Marks’ comments.
“Analytics nowadays used to discredit and control narratives,” Brown posted. “Roll the ball out, none of these guys better than me on both ends.”
“Nobody has won more combined regular season and playoff games since I entered the league 10 years ago,” he added. “Analytics are ruining the game. We playing AI hoops.”
Analytics nowadays used to discredit and control narratives – Roll the ball out none of these guys better than me on both ends who does he work for https://t.co/ql3skXAutM
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) June 27, 2026
June 30: Celtics need to ‘significantly lower’ asking price on Brown
As trade rumors continued to swirl around Brown, ESPN’s Charania stressed that Boston was still setting a high price for their star wing.
“We know they tried to get Giannis, but what’s the ask now?” Charania said during an appearance on “Get Up” last Friday. “My understanding is that in some cases the Celtics have asked teams for at least four first-round picks for Jaylen Brown.”
But Sam Amick of The Athletic offered up a sobering report about Brown’s true value in the NBA on Tuesday.
“Barring a drastic and unforeseen change in the market, the Boston Celtics will have to significantly lower their asking price if they plan on trading [Brown] anytime soon,” Amick wrote on Tuesday. “As you’ve no doubt heard by now, they’ve been asking for up to four first-round picks (in addition to players) for a team to land the 29-year-old forward.”
June 30: Brown has ‘grown frustrated’ with Celtics
The night before Jaylen Brown was dealt by Boston, The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach noted that weeks of trade rumors and commentary over the wing’s value across the NBA had started to weigh on him.
“League sources said that the Celtics have continued to field calls from teams interested in trading for Brown,” Himmelsbach wrote. “A league source said that Brown has grown frustrated with the organization’s approach following a season in which he guided the Celtics to 56 wins while Jayson Tatum was sidelined for months with an Achilles injury.”
Even with Brown’s efforts during the 2025-26 season, the writing was seemingly on the wall that the Celtics were ready to move on from their star talent.
July 1: Brown traded to 76ers
Sure enough, the Celtics reportedly made the call to trade Jaylen Brown to the 76ers on Wednesday evening — sending him to Philly in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.
Amid all the drama that spilled out over the last two months, Charania didn’t mince words when reporting on the factors that led to Wednesday’s shocking blockbuster.
“My understanding is [that] Jaylen Brown, throughout all this, never requested a trade,” Charania said on SportsCenter. “He never asked out of Boston.
“This was all the Celtics.”
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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