The Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Celtics will receive Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks in return. And if you thought the city of Boston would take that news calmly, you haven’t been paying attention.
The reaction on 98.5 The Sports Hub arrived within seconds of the report. Tony Massarotti of Felger & Mazz did not hold back.
“I hate it. I hate it with a freaking passion,” Massarotti said on air. “This is a ridiculous trade.”
Massarotti’s frustration zeroed in on one thing. Boston gave up a 2024 Finals MVP, a No. 3 overall pick from 2016 who spent a decade in the city. And the return? A 36-year-old Paul George who looks like he’s running on fumes, plus a couple of picks that won’t help much right now. Massarotti turned to his co-host Jim Murray to confirm that George is still owed money for two more seasons with no easy escape route.
“It was a money dump. That’s all it was,” Massarotti said. “And the Celtics now today are worse than they were yesterday.”
Hard to argue with that logic. Brown just wrapped up the best season of his career — 28.7 points per game while carrying Boston to the No. 2 seed with Jayson Tatum out with a torn Achilles. Sending that caliber of player to an Eastern Conference rival for an aging, often-injured veteran and a modest pick package? That’s a straight salary dump, no matter how you dress it up.
The Giannis pivot that didn’t work
Here’s where it gets worse. The Celtics had reportedly tried to package Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo before the Bucks shipped Giannis to Miami. That fell apart. So Boston pivoted. And the pivot was this deal — one that cuts their books but leaves a much weaker roster behind.
For the 76ers, the math changes entirely. Brown slots in next to Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and rookie VJ Edgecombe. That’s a legit four-man core. For the Celtics, the questions just got bigger.
Fans online were quick to point out the irony. Boston just moved a homegrown star in his prime to a division rival for an older player and some future draft capital that may never become anything. The media reactions weren’t just noise. They reflected what a lot of people in the league were thinking.
This wasn’t a rebuild. It wasn’t a retool. It was a financial decision dressed up as basketball. And for a city that just watched Brown help win a title, that’s a hard thing to swallow.
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