The craziness does not stop.On Tuesday, we found out LeBron James was leaving the Los Angeles Lakers and Kawhi Leonard was going back to the future with the Toronto Raptors. On Wednesday, the first full day of NBA free agency, we got something that might have been even more shocking: The Boston Celtics are trading Jaylen Brown, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, for Paul George and two first-round picks, along with more draft capital.After all the talk of the Celtics holding out for a huge package of players and picks, the smaller return was staggering.After they picked their jaws up off the floor, The Athletic’s David Aldridge, Jason Jones, Eric Koreen and Jason Quick got together to discuss their initial reactions to the Brown trade, the Celtics’ side of things and how this changes the Eastern Conference’s outlook.What was your initial reaction to the trade?Aldridge: Not surprised Boston traded Brown. The momentum certainly looked like it was heading in that direction the last few days. Not really surprised, either, that the Celtics couldn’t get four firsts for Brown when the whole league knew the C’s were pushing to move on from their star forward. I’m not even complaining that Boston took on the remaining two years and $110 million (including a player option for 2027-28 at $56.6 million) of George’s contract. PG-13 isn’t what he used to be, but he played very well in Philly’s comeback series win over Boston in the first round of last season’s playoffs.But I’m stunned that Boston didn’t hold out for a single young player. I’m not talking about Tyrese Maxey or VJ Edgecombe, who I trust were untouchable. But there had to be someone in the league that would be available for Brown, someone who could help Jayson Tatum attack the basket. I mean, there was no chance Detroit would entertain a package including, say, Ausar Thompson, for Brown? Maybe there’s another shoe to drop here, a secondary trade in the offing involving one of the non-Tatums that will fill that hole. But I think it’s a hole — a big one.Memorable moments from Jaylen Brown's 10 seasons in BostonJones: The Sixers turned George’s contract into Brown? That’s incredible. Maybe the Sixers can escape the second round of the playoffs with a veteran such as Brown, who had an MVP-level season in 2025-26. I wonder how it got to this point with Brown. Is there something Boston knows that will be revealed? I understand the Celtics pursuing Giannis Antetokounmpo, but it seems as if they just saw no reason to bring Brown back and figured the draft picks were worth the deal. This isn’t prime Playoff P, but does Palmdale, Calif.’s finest become the second option in Boston? There is a lot to sort out.Koreen: Covering the Raptors as I do, I thought about the Leonard trade from about 24 hours prior. I can’t believe that the LA Clippers got more for Leonard, who is 35, has a history of injuries and had a large say in where he went because he had one year left on his contract, than the Celtics got for Brown, who is 29, durable and signed for three more years.It makes no sense to me, and it made me wonder how toxic the Brown/Celtics situation really was.