Brad Stevens is aware of his current popularity—or lack thereof—in Boston.
The Celtics president of basketball operations and co-owner Bill Chisholm met with reporters for more than 40 minutes on Monday after the trade that sent star forward Jaylen Brown to the Sixers became official.
“It’s obviously unpopular and most people think it will be wrong,” Stevens said of the deal.
The Celtics acquired Paul George and a slew of first and second-round picks in exchange for Brown, who is set to make $57 million with the Sixers next season and is eligible to sign an extension for an additional two years at more than $70 million annually this month.
Brown’s contract was the richest in NBA history when it was signed in 2023 and was topped a year later by his now former teammate Jayson Tatum’s. The Celtics were sold to Chisholm a year ago after winning the 2024 NBA Finals and Stevens said owing two players more than $600 million combined in the coming years wasn’t feasible in the modern NBA.
