The Boston Celtics’ front office has some explaining to do. With president of basketball operations Brad Stevens set to face the media on Monday, rival executives are openly questioning the reasoning behind two massive moves: the team’s reported refusal to go all-in for Giannis Antetokounmpo and the subsequent trade of Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers.
According to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, one league GM was stunned that Stevens agreed to a Sixers package headlined by an aging Paul George plus draft picks — especially after rumors suggested Boston was just two players short of landing Antetokounmpo from Milwaukee.
“I like Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez, but those guys aren’t moving the needle,” the GM said. “I’d rather have Giannis and not those two than Paul George with those two.”
Another anonymous GM echoed that sentiment, suggesting the Celtics should have emptied the clip for the two-time MVP.
“If you knew you were going to trade him, why not go all in for Giannis?” the second GM said. “If you knew you had to get rid of him and you were in the final two, why not put in a bit more?”
Boston’s asking price for Jaylen Brown reportedly scared off potential suitors before talks even got serious. One executive whose team engaged in brief discussions said the Celtics’ demands were so steep that other clubs just moved on.
“There was no need to circle back,” the executive said.
That left the door open for Philadelphia, which apparently leveraged that lack of competition into a deal that left many around the league scratching their heads.
“You can’t make sense of it other than they had to do something. They had to,” a pro personnel scout said. “They couldn’t bring him back. He wore out his welcome there. But it’s a bad move. It looks bad, too. They panicked and made a bad decision.”
Did Boston rush the Brown trade after Giannis talks collapsed?
Part of the confusion stems from timing. Giannis ended up in Miami via trade, which seemed to accelerate Boston’s timeline on the Brown front. Multiple NBA GMs who spoke with MacMahon said they were surprised the Celtics felt so forced to deal Brown right away, especially for the package they got back from Philly.
“I’m surprised they felt so forced to do it right now — to Philly and for that package,” the first GM said. “I’m shocked. I don’t understand it.”
Others pointed to a fractured relationship between Brown and the organization as the driving factor. One president of basketball operations suggested the front office may have gotten nervous as trade suitors dropped off.
“If you’re in three or four weeks of talks and went from five suitors to one, maybe you get nervous,” the exec said. “If you don’t think [Brown’s return to Boston] is tenable, it’s better to make a bad trade than none at all.”
Stevens will have to answer for that logic on Monday.
Leave a Comment