Every major star Philadelphia has brought in alongside Joel Embiid has failed to deliver a championship. Ben Simmons, James Harden, and Paul George all represented a fresh start that ended the same way. The latest attempt arrived last week, in the person of Jaylen Brown, and before training camp has even been scheduled, Tracy McGrady is already pointing out a problem.

“JB was on a stream the other day, and he reached out to Max (Tyrese Maxey) …talked to VJ (Edgecombe), but I don’t think he’s spoken to Embiid yet,” McGrady revealed on The Cousins podcast. “And you know, they had their thing in past years, personal things going on. Now they’re teammates. And I don’t think there’s been a conversation between the two, at least not to my knowledge. I haven’t heard anything on it. So that’s not a good sign.”

While still a Celtic, Jaylen Brown called out Joel Embiid by name on a livestream following Philadelphia’s first-round playoff exit.

“Joel Embiid is a great player, one of the best bigs in basketball history, flops,” Brown said. “He know it. This ain’t breaking news.” Brown and Embiid now share a locker room, and how that plays out once the season tips off is worth watching.

Sixers president Mike Gansey told 97.5 The Fanatic that Embiid is “in a really good space right now” and was “excited” when called immediately after the trade.

“He is fired up,” Gansey said. “I think they are welcoming it.” Brown, for his part, called Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe on his Twitch stream the evening the deal was confirmed, and did not appear to include the team’s franchise center.

Brown on the Celtics Trading Him

Jaylen Brown has been very outspoken since his time in Boston ended. He spoke with content creator IShowSpeed about the trade that ended his 10-year tenure. 

“It’s a crazy business, bro. Don’t become a basketball player. There’s no loyalty, there’s no love…They packed me up, sayonara chat, I’m out of here.”

The trade saw Boston receive Paul George, a 2031 unprotected first-round pick, a 2028 first-round pick, and 2028 and 2030 second-round picks. Brown was under contract for three more seasons on his five-year supermax worth about $285 million. He just had a season where he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists, all career highs.

Celtics president Brad Stevens admitted that the decision wasn’t easy. According to NBC Sports Boston, he acknowledged that he lost sleep over the trade, but it was necessary for the organization in the long run, pointing to maintaining roster flexibility rather than simply chasing immediate wins. Boston reportedly explored blockbuster moves after it tried to use Brown in a pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo before he went to Miami instead.