Over the years, whether it was pulling off trades, drafting late first-rounders or drawing up nifty ATO plays on the whiteboard, Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens has given local fans little reason to doubt his acumen. This is the guy who traded away icon Marcus Smart, but won the deal, the guy who got Jrue Holiday to Boston, who saw in Derrick White what few others saw, who plucked useful scrap-heap guys like Neemias Queta and Luke Kornet, while drafting and developing Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez.
Over the years in Boston, Stevens’ track record is almost flawless. He was a genius pick as a relatively unknown mid-major college coach by his predecessor, Danny Ainge, in 2013 and a genius pick by Wyc Grousbeck to take over the front office. Even when things have not been perfect, Stevens had undoubted credibility with the Celtics, and a certain, “In Brad We Trust” comfort level was established.
Then on Wednesday, Stevens traded away Jaylen Brown.
Jaylen Brown Package Made Little Sense
The return package the Celtics got for Brown was baffling–36-year-old, oft-injured Paul George, two first-round draft picks and two seconds. It came amid reports that the Celtics had not been mandated by ownership to trade Brown, and that Brown had not demanded, or even requested, a trade. This was all Stevens. Quite suddenly, the faith has been shaken.
Former Celtics big man Kendrick Perkins said on ESPN, “It was one of the dumbest trades in NBA history. Mike Gansey, 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, toast with strawberry jam because they finesse the hell out of him.”
Longtime Celtics reporter Dan Shaughnessy, who wrote a definitive biography of Red Auerbach, noted that the Celtics usually pluck stars from other teams, not give them away like Stevens did. “The Celtics never made a trade like this, trade a star in his prime. … They never do this, 80 years of the franchise. This is seismic. It’s not good. Fans are going to hate this thing,” he said.
Celtics podcaster Timi Kordylewski wrote on Twitter/X, “I gotta say I am having hard time trusting Brad Stevens right now if 36-year-old Paul George and his contract (with $56.5 million player option for 2027-28) is what the Celtics got for Jaylen Brown. Celtics actually sent Brown to their DIVISION RIVALS.”
And longtime Bostonian and basketball writer Jeff Goodman noted, “One NBA GM … on the Jaylen Brown trade: ‘This was highway robbery. I have no idea what Brad Stevens was thinking. The Celtics will be lucky to get in the play-in next year.’”
GettyJaylen Brown
Faith in Celtics, Brad Stevens on the Wane
This is unchartered territory for Stevens. He has just never truly been criticized by the Celtics fan base in any capacity, but at this point, it is difficult to defend the move he made on Brown, who was an MVP candidate last season and the Finals MVP when the Celtics won a championship in 2024.
Maybe there is another move coming, another move that will somehow justify where the Celtics are. As it stands, it looks like the Celtics were simply afraid of continuing to pay the remaining three years and $183 million on Brown’s contract, and that maybe Stevens bought into the analytics that diminished Brown’s style of play.
The Celtics signed Mike Conley to fill a backup point guard’s role on Wednesday, and made a strong move to sign Mitchell Robinson from the Knicks. Both would bulk up the rotation. But then Stevens traded away Brown. He’ll need to answer for it.
Celtics’ Brad Stevens Facing ‘Seismic’ Backlash For 1st Time in Tenure