New Jaylen Brown Rumors on How Contract Affected Celtics' Return in Paul George, 76ers Trade

Jaylen Brown's sizable contract impacted opposing teams' interest in him on the trade market before he was dealt from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

"It wasn't that the league doesn't think Jaylen Brown is a great player or an excellent player, it's that the league doesn't value what he produces at his salary slot," Windhorst reported Thursday on NBA Today. "At $57 million, what he produces. And that is why he was traded and that is why he was traded for relatively so little. As the Celtics evaluated where they were as an organization and evaluated where they have to operate in this new world of aprons and basically hard salary caps and everything like that, they said they had to move off a player of his production level at that salary number and the other teams out there didn't disagree."

Boston reportedly sent Brown to Philadelphia in exchange for Paul George, two first-round draft picks and two second-round selections.

It wasn't a particularly hefty return for Brown, who is coming off a 2025-26 campaign in which he averaged a career-high 28.7 points and 5.1 assists per game. He earned his fifth All-Star nod and finished No. 6 in MVP voting for his efforts.

Still, Brown has three years remaining on a supermax extension that he signed with the Celtics in 2023.

He'll carry cap hits of $57.7 million next season, $61.7 million for the 2027-28 season and $65.6 million for his 2028-29 campaign.

The average annual value of Brown's contract during the 2026-27 season ranks No. 6 among all players (via Spotrac).

With teams actively looking to avoid the penalties that come with eclipsing the second tax apron, it's understandable that opposing front offices may have been hesitant to give up more assets to take on Brown's contract despite his individual production.

As for George, he carries a $57.7 million cap hit next season before holding a $56.6 million player option for his 2027-28 campaign.