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The Boston Celtics will enter a new era this upcoming season after trading a player that has been synonymous with the franchise for a decade.
After years of trade rumors, the Celtics dealt wing player Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in return for Paul George and draft picks.
Brown was coming off arguably his most impressive season with Boston, which began when he was selected third overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. He finished sixth in MVP voting and kept the Celtics in contention for the top seed in the Eastern Conference while franchise superstar Jayson Tatum was recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.
Boston president of basketball operations and former head coach Brad Stevens spoke in a news conference about the trade soon after, but current head coach Joe Mazzulla had yet to offer his thoughts.
Mazzulla spoke publicly for the first time about the trade Thursday and seemed fairly neutral on whether he viewed it as a positive or a negative.
"I think the reaction is just still processing it," Mazzulla said in an interview, which was posted on "X" by Celtics CLNS. "Obviously, when something like that happens it's not a black and white type of thing. There's a ton of stuff that goes into it on and off the court. The part that I hope that gets talked about more and the part that we got to focus on the most is really just the respect, the appreciation and the gratitude for what he did for the Celtics for 10 years. He was a Celtic longer than I have been. He was here before me. He set the tone and started that and was a part of special things and continued that and, obviously, was one of the biggest reasons why we were able to be as successful as we have been. That, to me, is what we have to focus on more. The respect as a competitor and the gratitude for what he has done."
Mazzulla was brought in by Stevens as an assistant coach on the latter's staff. After Stevens moved to Boston's front office, Mazzulla was promoted to head coach in 2022. He won the NBA Finals with Brown in 2024, in which the newly-traded 76ers player was named the Finals MVP.
Mazzulla and Brown's collective success this past season led the coach to being named the 2026 Coach of the Year.
This upcoming season will be Mazzulla's first as either an assistant or head coach without having the tandem of Brown and Tatum.
Remember to join our CELTICS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Celtics fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
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After years of trade rumors, the Celtics dealt wing player Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in return for Paul George and draft picks.
Brown was coming off arguably his most impressive season with Boston, which began when he was selected third overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. He finished sixth in MVP voting and kept the Celtics in contention for the top seed in the Eastern Conference while franchise superstar Jayson Tatum was recovering from a torn Achilles tendon.
Boston president of basketball operations and former head coach Brad Stevens spoke in a news conference about the trade soon after, but current head coach Joe Mazzulla had yet to offer his thoughts.
Mazzulla spoke publicly for the first time about the trade Thursday and seemed fairly neutral on whether he viewed it as a positive or a negative.
"I think the reaction is just still processing it," Mazzulla said in an interview, which was posted on "X" by Celtics CLNS. "Obviously, when something like that happens it's not a black and white type of thing. There's a ton of stuff that goes into it on and off the court. The part that I hope that gets talked about more and the part that we got to focus on the most is really just the respect, the appreciation and the gratitude for what he did for the Celtics for 10 years. He was a Celtic longer than I have been. He was here before me. He set the tone and started that and was a part of special things and continued that and, obviously, was one of the biggest reasons why we were able to be as successful as we have been. That, to me, is what we have to focus on more. The respect as a competitor and the gratitude for what he has done."
Mazzulla was brought in by Stevens as an assistant coach on the latter's staff. After Stevens moved to Boston's front office, Mazzulla was promoted to head coach in 2022. He won the NBA Finals with Brown in 2024, in which the newly-traded 76ers player was named the Finals MVP.
Mazzulla and Brown's collective success this past season led the coach to being named the 2026 Coach of the Year.
This upcoming season will be Mazzulla's first as either an assistant or head coach without having the tandem of Brown and Tatum.
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Remember to join our CELTICS on ROUNDTABLE community, which is FREE! You can post your own thoughts, in text or video form, and you can engage with our Roundtable staff, as well as other Celtics fans. If prompted to download the Roundtable APP, that's free too!
Continue reading...
