Weeks of discussion surrounding Jaylen Brown’s future came to an end earlier this week. The Boston Celtics traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks. It was a decent return, though not the blockbuster package many had expected when Brown’s departure from Boston was initially viewed as a “Giannis leaving Milwaukee-esque” move. Before the 76ers took him on board, multiple teams reportedly backed away, with league insiders suggesting the 2024 Finals MVP generated far less trade interest than many anticipated.

The Celtics set an “unreasonably high bar,” asking for four first-round picks, as reported by The Athletic’s Jay King and Sam Amick. This put off teams like the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Houston Rockets. The fact that Rockets coach Ime Udoka, who coached Brown and the Celtics to the 2022 NBA Finals, showed no interest in his former star came as a surprise to other teams and was also somewhat of an eye-opener. As for the Trail Blazers, they had their own reasons.

“Their [Portland’s] analytics viewed him as a negative player, and the Celtics’ asking price was too high,” The Athletic‘s report read.

Brown’s reputation and market value kept taking more hits, with further revelations stating that an anonymous current NBA general manager did not view the former Celtics forward as a top-50 player in the league.

Brown has had a torrid time with the media of late. After the Celtics’ loss to the 76ers in Round 1 of the 2026 playoffs, Brown’s Twitch stream the following day may have marked the beginning of this torrid stretch. Brown called it the “favorite season” of his career, despite the defeat, and veteran journalist Stephen A. Smith told him “to be quiet”.

It sparked a beef between the two, with Smith even warning Brown to “be careful what you wish for” regarding how organizations and the media might perceive him. Smith also revealed during an ESPN segment that Brown is “not liked” by many across the league.

ESPN’s Bobby Marks also reported what an organization told him about Brown, “‘Yeah, we view him as like the seventh-best player on a team.’ I was like, ‘Holy c*ap.’”

The way Brown began getting viewed definitely came as a surprise. Ahead of the 2025-26 season, he was tasked with leading the Celtics in the absence of star player Jayson Tatum, who was recovering from an Achilles injury. Brown did just fine, if not exceed expectations. He averaged 28.7 points as his side finished second in the East. He also finished sixth in the MVP race and earned a spot on the All-NBA Second Team. So, what actually made teams reconsider Brown may not have been his impact, but rather other, more technical reasons.

“As several front office executives shared with The Athletic, the most significant suppressor to Brown’s market was his massive salary,” the report read.

Brown is set to receive $182 million over the next three seasons and $64 million for the 2028-29 campaign. In fact, even the Celtics’ internal valuation didn’t paint the most favorable picture. Previously, insider Brian Windhorst reported, “They felt that Derrick White had a better season. The statistics that people use to analyze said that.”

It was also reported that “the Celtics believed Brown went off script too often during playoff games.” One reason for that was that he finished the first-round series against the 76ers with more turnovers (24) than assists (23). Additionally, calling it his “best season” despite that created further tension in his relationship with the organization and added to the negative perception surrounding him in the media.

Brown, however, was disappointed with how his summer had turned out. At the beginning of last season, it didn’t look likely that he would be so aggressively shopped. And after the trade to the 76ers was confirmed, he (once again) took this Twitch account to address who the league has started viewing him.

Jaylen Brown’s response to the Celtics trading him to the 76ers

Brown was linked to the Milwaukee Bucks in a straight swap for Giannis at one point because it was believed he would allow the Bucks to remain contenders in the East. Then, it was revealed that he would be used as part of a three-team package sending the Greek Freak elsewhere. But ultimately, he became an unused piece in the deal, remaining in Boston as the Celtics scrambled to find suitors.

Journalist Colin Cowherd’s revelation that people around the NBA viewed Brown as having a “disease” because he believed he was the smartest person in every locker room only further highlighted how his standing around the league had changed. In fact, Cowherd said that this perception had led to discontent within the Celtics’ front office and had hurt Brown’s value across the league.

After the 76ers agreed to a deal to get Brown to Philly, Brown said, “I’m still processing, chat, how everything went down. I’m excited and disappointed at the same time.”

” I earned my respect from this city. Never asked for any shortcuts, no special treatment, no privilege. I definitely think there’s more to it. It definitely is more to it. I know Brad [Stevens] is getting a lot of criticism, but I just wish the ‘more to it’ could have been explained.”

Brown clearly wanted the Celtics front office to be more transparent about his exit because the way it unfolded hurt him. His comments may have been distasteful, as he focused more on his personal stats than the Celtics’ collective failure to make a deep postseason run this season. But one thing can’t be denied: he was a star in Boston and one of the most lethal players in the Eastern Conference.

The 76ers now have another star on their team alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. And with Brown, they will be dreaming of going a step further than the Eastern Conference semifinals, where they were swept 4-0 by the New York Knicks this past season.