Brad Stevens opened up about his first trade talk with Jaylen Brown. It got real fast.

Brad Stevens didn’t sugarcoat it for Jaylen Brown. When the two sat down in early June to discuss the forward’s future in Boston, the Celtics executive told him straight up: if a trade ever happened, it would be a personally rough day for him. That detail, shared by ClutchPoints’ Brett Siegel, paints a complicated picture of how one of the biggest deals of the summer went down.

The Brown-to-Philly trade became official Monday, ending the former Finals MVP’s decade-long run in Boston. The Celtics sent Brown to the 76ers for a package headlined by Paul George plus draft compensation. But the return surprised a lot of people. So did the destination.

A relationship that started to crack

Publicly, Boston had dangled Brown in talks for Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier this offseason. When Miami landed that sweepstakes instead, the damage might have already been done. Brown stirred things up himself by liking an Instagram comment that suggested he should be traded and reposting a video arguing he — not Jayson Tatum — was Boston’s best player. It wasn’t subtle.

Still, fans expected more leverage. Brown is 28, an elite two-way wing, and just helped the Celtics win a title. Sending him to the team Boston just eliminated in the playoffs? That stung. Critics pointed at Stevens, who now finds himself defending a deal that looks light on paper.

The emotional side of a business decision

Stevens’ comments suggest the move wasn’t purely transactional for him. That early-June conversation set a tone. He told Brown that if the Celtics ever moved him, it wouldn’t be an easy call. Whether that honesty helped or hurt the process is debatable. But it does make you wonder how much the personal side factored in once the front office started taking calls.

The 76ers, meanwhile, land a proven postseason performer who can guard multiple positions and create his own shot. Paul George is a strong return but not a young cornerstone. Philly is betting that Brown’s prime aligns with Joel Embiid’s window. Boston is betting that the flexibility from this deal keeps them in contention. One of those bets is going to look smart by spring.

(As for those Celtics-76ers matchups next season? Yeah. Circle those dates.)