If you thought we were going to get through the Boston Celtics‘ media day without a discussion about the Jaylen Brown trade, then you’d be wrong.
Joe Mazzulla opened up his availability to the media by praising Brown and what he brought to the Celtics and the city of Boston during his 10-year tenure with the franchise.
“Obviously wanted to start off by paying respects to Jaylen. What he’s done for this organization and community for the last 10 years,” Mazzulla said. “What he’s been able to accomplish has been great, and you know, it’s not a one-time thing to where you let go of that.”
“There’s obviously a short-term perspective, and then a long-term perspective about what he did over the course of his time here, both on and off the floor, and that should not be forgotten.”
Brown was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this summer. Paul George, two first-round draft picks, and two second-round draft picks were sent to Boston as part of the deal.
It’s worth noting that had Brown stayed in Boston, he would have been eligible for a two-year $141 million contract extension. That deal would have paid Brown north of $70 million a year during his age-33 and 34 seasons.
Celtics’ Tatum Speaks on Brown Trade
When speaking during Boston’s media day, Jayson Tatum shared his thoughts on moving forward without Brown on the Celtics’ roster.
“It’s tough,” Tatum said. “The business of the NBA always plays a part at some point. I’ve seen it through my almost 10 years of being in this league. More so, just being grateful for what we accomplished. For what he means to this city and this organization.”
Tatum continued.
“Just the ups and downs in our careers, that we were able to grow and learn from…Really just being thankful for those nine years (together).”
Both Tatum and Brown will now face off against each other multiple times per year. It will be interesting to see how Brown is received by the Celtics fanbase in the TD Garden when he walks onto the parquet wearing a Sixers jersey.
The Celtics Are Still Retooling
Trading Brown was a hard decision for the front office. After all, he’s coming off the best season of his career. However, Boston is trying to reset the repeater tax and develop a new-look roster around Tatum. Having two players on supermax contracts was never going to afford them the flexibility they needed.
Nevertheless, Celtics fans were undoubtedly upset to see Brown shipped off to a conference rival. The fact that Brown being with the Sixers also led to LeBron James signing with the franchise was a bitter pill to swallow.
Still, Boston’s new-look roster is now set for the upcoming season. As such, the fanbase will undoubtedly get behind the team. That means rooting for another year where the roster goes above and beyond expectations.
The Eastern Conference got stronger this season, so hopefully, the Celtics are up for the fight.
Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla Sends Powerful Message About Jaylen Brown