Jaylen Brown Vetoed Multiple Trade Destinations Before Celtics Sent Him to Philly

The basketball world is still processing the Boston Celtics trading Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and draft picks. It felt light. Too light for a guy who just finished as an MVP finalist and helped win a title. But new reporting suggests the Celtics didn’t have as many options as people think.

Zach Lowe of The Ringer dropped some context on a recent podcast. According to Lowe, Brown himself quietly shut down at least two potential landing spots before Boston pulled the trigger on the Philly deal.

“I think there was at least one or two other teams who might have been interested in Jaylen Brown and who got intel that Jaylen Brown wasn’t interested in them and to maybe stay out of the bidding,” Lowe said, via Brian Robb of MassLive. “I think Boston felt the circle closing.”

Translation: Brown was working the back channels. And when a star player makes it known he doesn’t want to be somewhere, potential trade partners tend to back off.

The Portland question

One team that reportedly got Brown’s cold shoulder? The Portland Trail Blazers. Bobby Marks of ESPN had already floated Portland as a possible destination, but Lowe wasn’t buying it.

“That’s the one where I’m like, did Jaylen Brown want to be there?” Lowe added. “I think all of that is what drove them to do it now.”

So the Celtics weren’t just getting lowballed. They were working with a shrinking pool of suitors. Brown had leverage. He used it. And Boston president Brad Stevens had to take the best offer still on the table.

Which brings us to Paul George. If healthy, George is still an elite two-way wing. He can shoot, defend, and create his own shot. That fits Boston’s system. But there’s always a “if healthy” attached to George, and it’s a big one. He hasn’t played a full season since 2018-19.

Celtics fans are understandably furious. You don’t trade a 27-year-old Finals MVP in his prime to a division rival unless your hands are tied. And apparently they were. Brown’s behind-the-scenes maneuvering boxed Boston into a corner. They got George and some picks. It might work out. It might not. But the narrative that Stevens got fleeced misses the fuller picture — one where Brown’s preferences limited the market from the start.

That doesn’t make the pill any easier to swallow in Boston. But it does explain why the return looked so small.