How Jaylen Brown Trade Talks Unfolded with Celtics' Brad Stevens Revealed by 76ers' Bob Myers

Philadelphia 76ers executive Bob Myers provided some insight this week into how the organization's acquisition of Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics came to be this offseason.

During an appearance on Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady (h/t HoopsHype.com ), Myers discussed coming to the realization that Brown was actually available and negotiating with Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens (beginning at the 23:50 mark of the podcast) :

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"You start hearing there was a possibility, and the job then became is this a real thing with Jaylen Brown? Is it a real thing," Myers said. "I think Brad Stevens is one of the most straight shooters in the league. So when you work in the NBA as an executive, you ultimately, usually have at least one or two—I don't want to say transactions—with every other GM. So you know, if I call Tracy, I go, 'Hey, you want to make a deal?' He might be like, yeah, yeah, yeah, and then he doesn't. ...

"But you have to understand, like, he's honest, or he might tell me what I want to hear, or he might lie to me. This dude just might just lie. He lied to me two years ago, he's going to lie to me again. That's not Brad Stevens. So when Brad Stevens responded with, 'What are you offering,' then you knew that there was a shot."

Brown's name came up in trade rumors throughout the offseason, but they were usually linked to the Celtics' pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Once the Milwaukee Bucks decided to trade Giannis to the Miami Heat, though, the rumors and speculation surrounding Brown didn't go away.

Ultimately, Boston agreed to send Brown to Philly in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks in the biggest blockbuster trade of the offseason.

The Sixers acquired a five-time All-Star, one-time NBA champion and one-time NBA Finals MVP in Brown, who was also coming off the best statistical season of his career.

As Boston's No. 1 scoring option for most of the 2025-26 campaign, Brown averaged a career-high 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game.

In addition to adding Brown to a core that already included Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and VJ Edgecombe, the acquisition of Brown also seemingly played a huge role in convincing LeBron James to sign with the team in free agency.

Now, the 76ers have arguably the best starting five in the NBA, and one of their best chances to win a championship since they last did so in 1983.