This offseason, the Boston Celtics have maneuvered in a manner that we haven’t seen from them over the last decade.
After getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers, the Celtics handed them Jaylen Brown for Paul George and a pair of future first and second round picks.
For what it’s worth, Brown has been involved in trade rumors for a majority of his ten-year career with the Celtics, but it’s never turned into fruition.
After Brown had a career-year, leading the Celtics to the second-seed, Boston used him as trade bait to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It’s also worth noting that the Celtics tried to trade him for Kevin Durant in the summer of 2022, Anthony Davis in 2019, and Kawhi Leonard in 2018.
In the aftermath of the joint press conference with GM Brad Stevens and majority owner Bill Chisholm, the team is now in Las Vegas for Summer League and there have been some reactions over the Brown trade.
Joe Mazzulla
“I think the reaction is just still processing it. You know, 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 gets talked about more and the part that we want to focus on the most is really just the respect and appreciation and the gratitude for what he did for the Celtics for ten-years. I mean, he’s a Celtic longer than I have been, he was here before me. He set the tone and started that and was part of special things and continued that and was one of the biggest reasons why we were able to be as successful as we have been. So, that to me is what we have to focus on more- the respect as a competitor and the gratitude for what he’s done.”
“He made me a better coach, I know that for a fact. The way he pushed me, the way he pushed himself, the way he pushed the locker room- he made me a better coach and that’s what you focus on.”
Jayson Tatum
“To be honest, weird. It’s weird. You play on a team with a guy for nine-years. I was fortunate enough to go to the finals with him twice, and win a championship, and push each other to be the players that we are today.”
“It’s tough. But it just makes you appreciate the moments and time that we had. Obviously, it came to an abrupt ending, but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t super successful. Great years, obviously, that he gave to the city and to the organization.”
Hugo Gonzalez
“Well first of all, Jaylen’s a Celtics legend. Everybody, starting by me, is really grateful because the things he has done. Especially for me, he’s been an amazing, better player. He’s been a leader for me, he’s been a role model. Everybody here is grateful for him.”
Derrick White
“Obviously it’s tough to see someone get traded. JB’s been an amazing teammate and amazing friend to me. He kind of welcomed me when I got traded to Boston so I’m always thankful for my time that I spent with JB and it’s obviously tough to get traded, I know how that feels.”
“I’ll just reach out to JB and tell him thank you for everything he did for me and just know how much he meant to me.”
Neemias Queta
“It’s not easy, I think you feel for him. Obviously it wasn’t easy for them as well. But at the end of the day, it’s part of the business. Jaylen’s a guy that you can’t replace, in the city, really hard to replace on the court as well. He did so much for Boston in general and he will definitely be missed. I just wanted to show him a sense of gratitude for pushing me daily and showing me that I’m his guy; I’m still going to be around, anything you need you can reach out and we can arrange things. I think he just pushed me to be better everyday by his edge and intensity and his ability to corral us as a group, it was really really special.”
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Photo Credit: Danielle Parhizkaran, Boston Globe
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