Boston’s Jaylen Brown trade return of Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks left numerous NBA executives around the league bewildered. “They couldn’t have gotten better than that?” one neutral observing executive whose team was not in the Brown sweepstakes told HoopsHype. Many around the league were surprised George, 36, was the best player Boston could land for a 29-year-old Brown who was sixth in the NBA MVP voting this past season. George, a nine-time All-Star in his 16-year career, hasn’t been an All-Star the past two seasons since joining the
76ers in free agency. He’s been limited to 78 combined games the past two seasons and is owed $110.72 million over the next two seasons, including his player option for the 2027-28 season. “I can’t believe they did that,” one executive whose team was consistently monitoring Brown’s availability said. “I’ve been sitting here thinking about it all day,” an executive whose team made an offer to land Brown also told HoopsHype late Monday night. When polled, most executives believe the
Celtics made the 76ers stronger in the short term to compete in the Eastern Conference next season.
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