Brown Deal Sent $140M Extension Talk to Boston, and 4 Picks to Philadelphia

A deal sending Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia returned Boston two first-round picks, two second-round picks and Paul George, while a $140 million extension figure surfaced in discussion of the transaction. The Celtics acquired George, a 2028 first-round pick, a 2031 first-round pick, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2030 second-round pick from the 76ers for Brown this past offseason. A representative for Brown rejected a report that he had asked Boston for a trade or delivered a list of demands, telling ESPN the claim is "10000% a lie."

The report came Monday from Brian Scalabrine, an NBC Sports Boston analyst and former NBA player. He said Brown had requested a trade from Boston, presented a list of demands and was "rooting to be traded to Milwaukee." Before the Celtics hosted the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, Scalabrine said Brown did not "technically demand to be traded" but maintained Brown brought the team a list of demands. "I don't know what the ultimatum was or the demands or whatever it was," he said, adding one item might have been a $140 million extension and that he had not gotten to the bottom of it.

Brown's representative said Brown never asked to go to Milwaukee. A trade centered on Giannis Antetokounmpo fell apart during the offseason, after which Boston told Brown he would be traded regardless, the representative said; Brown's only request at that stage was a say in his destination. The representative also said Brown's sole other request during his Boston tenure was that he and Jayson Tatum receive equal treatment.

The exchange followed a week of public friction between Brown and Tatum. Brown posted a blue hat emoji on Instagram after Tatum said in a YouTube video he was "just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world" by the trade. Tatum said the next day, "There's no beef. It's not about that," and said he would welcome a conversation with Brown. Two days later Brown said there was "no beef" but that there "might be a little lamb chops and some gravy," added that Tatum has "hell of a PR team," and declined to explain the emoji or commit to a meeting, saying both players must do what is best for their own teams.

Brown and Tatum were both drafted No. 3 overall, Brown in 2016 and Tatum in 2017, and played nine seasons together in Boston. They reached five Eastern Conference finals and two NBA Finals, winning the 2024 championship over the Dallas Mavericks.