The Boston Celtics are trading Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and draft picks. Shams Charania reported the move, which sends a 29-year-old four-time All-Star out of Boston and brings back a 36-year-old nine-time All-Star who has not played a full season in years.
Brown is entering the third year of a five-year, $285.3 million deal and is making $57 million in 2025-26. He averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game while Boston finished 56-26, then won Eastern Conference Finals MVP and NBA Finals MVP during the 2023-24 championship run.
Boston Celtics roster shifts
The deal lands after the Celtics already moved Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis, and after Jayson Tatum was expected to miss the majority of the 2025-26 season because of a torn Achilles. Boston was also dealing with second-apron luxury-tax restrictions, which pushed the roster toward more drastic changes.
That is the backdrop for a trade that changes the shape of the team around Tatum. The Celtics are giving up their most productive wing from last season and adding a veteran with a much shorter recent availability record, along with draft compensation that can be used in future roster work.
Paul George availability
George has appeared in more than 56 games only once in the past five seasons. In either of his two seasons in Philadelphia, he did not appear in more than 41 games.
Last season, he played 37 contests and averaged 17.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 39.2 percent from three-point range. He also served a 25-game suspension for violating the NBA's anti-drug policy. Boston is betting that the draft picks in the package help offset that risk, while Philadelphia gets a younger star wing in return.
Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid
The Philadelphia 76ers add another scoring option next to Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, giving them a new star to chase a championship with. For Boston, the trade shifts the roster from Brown’s production to George’s lower recent workload and a different contract shape, a gamble that changes the short-term ceiling and the long-term cap picture at the same time.
The unanswered piece is the draft-pick package itself. Jake Fischer reported details on the picks involved, but the core value of the deal still comes down to whether Boston believes George’s fit and the added selections can replace Brown’s 28.7-point season and his role as the one proven perimeter scorer left from the title core.
