NBA Exec 'Baffled' Jaylen Brown Was Traded to 76ers for Less Than Walker Kessler to Lakers

One NBA general manager summed up the reaction of many fans when comparing the respective trade hauls for Jaylen Brown and Walker Kessler.

The Boston Celtics are reportedly sending Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-rounders. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers parted with two unprotected first-rounders and two pick swaps in order to execute a sign-and-trade for Kessler.

"I mean, the guy got traded for less than [Kessler]," the GM told ESPN's Tim MacMahon when alluding to Brown. "That's baffling to me."

It's impossible not to make the comparison when Brown and Kessler are so far apart in terms of their NBA experience and accolades.

Brown is a five-time All-Star and former Finals MVP who finished sixth on the MVP ballot in 2025-26. Kessler has four seasons under his belt and missed big chunks of the last two years through injury.

One should clearly be more valuable than the other from a trade perspective. Ultimately, Brown and Kessler's separate returns showed how little leverage the Celtics and Lakers had for unrelated reasons.

MacMahon reported teams around the league don't love the idea of paying Brown more than $60 million annually for the next three years, on top of a possible extension after that. At a time when the luxury tax aprons are in place, GMs have to be more careful when they're handing out or taking on max or supermax contracts.

"It's really hard to tie up that much of your salary cap in one player unless they're truly generational. And he's not even close to that," one general manager told MacMahon. "If you supermax Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] or Joker, it makes sense. That's probably the list. The league is getting smarter now. And here's the thing: The dumb teams are also the cheap teams, so the Celtics couldn't take advantage of one of them."

According to MacMahon, there was also a sense Boston wanted to offload Brown sooner rather than later. That perceived desperation was used against Boston to drive the price down.

When it comes to the Lakers, everyone knew how much they prioritized an upgrade at center.

The Athletic's Dan Woike and Sam Amick reported in May that L.A. made promises to Luka Dončić to sway him on signing an extension. Part of that vision was adding a big who can protect the paint and attack the rim on lobs.

If the Lakers came away from the summer empty-handed, Dončić presumably wouldn't have been thrilled, and all of a sudden the fact he can become a free agent in 2028 is a larger concern.

Throw in Kessler's status as a restricted free agent and the Utah Jazz had Los Angeles over a barrel. The Lakers needed to offer a contract Utah wouldn't match on top of a trade package that couldn't be beat by another suitor.

If one thing has proven true over the last few years of blockbuster deals, trades aren't created equal. What one team got back for a specific player may provide little guide to what a different franchise can hope to land for a different player.