The Boston Celtics had at least one other suitor for Jaylen Brown before the blockbuster trade with Philadelphia was finalized, according to Chris Mannix. Mannix said one “good team” made an offer for Brown and was “stunned” when the 76ers package was the one Boston accepted, largely because that club believed its own proposal was not strong enough.
The reporting underscores how wide Brown’s market was before the Celtics moved him to Philadelphia for Paul George and multiple draft picks. Brown had just finished a 2025-26 season in which he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 71 games, earning All-NBA honors and carrying Boston’s offense for long stretches of the year.
Boston’s decision ended Brown’s 10-year run with the franchise. He entered the offseason as the team’s leading scorer and most durable perimeter creator, while Jayson Tatum was limited to 16 games and Derrick White, Payton Pritchard and Neemias Queta also played major roles in a season that still ended with an Eastern Conference finals-level roster change rather than a title run.
The trade to Philadelphia reshaped the Celtics’ wing rotation immediately. George arrives as a proven two-way scorer, but the deal also signals a different roster construction in Boston, one that is leaning more heavily on depth and short-term flexibility after a decade built around the Brown-Tatum core.
Mannix’s account also suggests the Celtics had leverage beyond the package they ultimately took. Even if the unnamed offer was not considered strong internally, the fact that another team was prepared to make a serious run at Brown helps explain why Boston could move him without waiting for a single bidding war to fully develop.
The Celtics have already spent the offseason filling out the rest of the roster around the new core. They signed Mitchell Robinson to a three-year, $47.4 million deal, added Mike Conley on a one-year contract and re-signed Queta to a four-year, $56 million extension. Boston also drafted Chris Cenac Jr. with the 27th pick and brought back Amari Williams, while Nikola Vucevic returned to Orlando.
