Kendrick Perkins didn’t just disagree with the Boston Celtics trading Jaylen Brown. He called it one of the dumbest moves in NBA history and then kept going.
The Celtics shipped Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks. It ended the offseason’s biggest will-they-won’t-they saga. But the reaction from fans and analysts was swift and brutal, and nobody went harder than Perkins.
“It was one of the dumbest trades in NBA history,” Perkins said on SportsCenter. “My guess is Jameer Nelson, Bob Myers — they should be serving breakfast in bed to Brad Stevens. I’m talking about cut-up fruit, seedless grapes, mint tea and toast with strawberry jam because they finessed the hell out of him. This is just sad, all across the board.”
Perkins won a title with the Celtics in 2008 and still carries weight as a former Boston big man. So his words hit different. He didn’t just critique the trade. He questioned the logic behind who Stevens targeted and what the Celtics gave up to get him.
The Sixers came out of nowhere
Philadelphia wasn’t even on the short list of Brown suitors before this. The Milwaukee Bucks, Denver Nuggets, Atlanta Hawks, Portland Trail Blazers and Los Angeles Clippers were all linked to him at various points. The Sixers swooped in and got a deal done while everyone else was still circling.
Perkins gave Philly credit for the heist but zero benefit of the doubt to Boston.
“He had already lost when he lost the Giannis sweepstakes to the Miami Heat,” Perkins said. “If you’re going to jump off the porch and you’re going to make Jaylen Brown available, you’ve got to make sure you pencil in that deal. This is nothing but sloppy seconds, in my opinion. He just basically handed the Philadelphia 76ers a trip to the NBA Finals next year.”
That last part stings because it sounds less like a hot take and more like a real prediction. Brown is entering his prime, already has a Finals MVP on his resume, and now he’s joining Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. The Celtics are banking on Paul George staying healthy and fitting next to Jayson Tatum. History says that’s a risky bet.
The team has not commented publicly on Perkins’ rant. They don’t need to. But the trade is already being dissected on every network and every timeline. What makes it weird is that Boston traded a homegrown star to a division rival for an older player and a pile of picks that may or may not pan out. And they did it after Brown carried them to a championship.
If the Sixers win the East next season, this trade will haunt Boston for years. If they don’t, Perkins might be the one eating breakfast in bed.
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