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By Bryan Colbert Jr.
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Jaylen Brown knew the Boston Celtics planned to trade him.
What he wanted to know was where.
After 10 seasons in Boston, Brown learned he was headed to Philadelphia only after the Celtics and 76ers had finished the deal, according to ESPN’s Kris Rhim.
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Rhim reported the details Tuesday, hours before Brown faces his former team for the first time.
The Celtics had explored sending him to Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo, a possibility Brown learned about while on vacation over the summer. When the Bucks sent Antetokounmpo to Miami instead, Brown told Boston he was willing to stay. The Celtics told him they still intended to move him.
That was when Brown asked for a voice in choosing his next team, according to Rhim. If Boston would make that choice on its own, he wanted advance notice of the destination.
By the time he got word it was Philadelphia, there was nothing left for him to weigh in on.
The timing matters because a different account of Brown’s exit had circulated in October.
Former Celtics forward and NBC Sports Boston analyst Brian Scalabrine said Brown had requested a trade and wanted to go to Milwaukee. A representative for Brown disputed both claims in comments to ESPN. Scalabrine later walked back his statement that Brown had asked out.
Boston announced the deal July 6. The Celtics acquired Paul George and draft compensation that included Philadelphia’s unprotected 2031 first-round pick.
In the announcement, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens called Brown “one of the defining players of this era.”
Brown spent nine of his 10 seasons in Boston alongside Jayson Tatum. They won the 2024 championship together, with Brown earning Finals MVP.
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With Tatum recovering from an Achilles tear for much of last season, Brown averaged nearly 29 points per game and finished sixth in MVP voting. Within months, Boston had sent him to a division rival.
Brown enters Tuesday’s reunion coming off a 29-point performance in Chicago that helped Philadelphia improve to 9-2. He also had seven rebounds and four assists.
After that game, he was asked whether he expected to speak to Tatum when the Celtics visited Philadelphia. This time, Brown gave the answer himself.
“Both of us are trying to win, so nothing to talk about,” Brown said. “Just check the ball up.”
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