The blockbuster trade sending Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers has drawn strong reactions across the NBA, and Hall of Famer Gary Payton believes the move immediately reshapes the Eastern Conference.
Speaking with DJ Siddiqi of Action Network, Payton said Philadelphia’s acquisition of Brown gives the 76ers the pieces to emerge as the biggest challenger to the defending NBA champion New York Knicks after a season in which Philadelphia reached the second round before being swept 4-0 by New York.
“Yes, that places them right there, especially with Tyrese Maxey,” Payton said. “We have to get him to be healthy. He’s never been healthy, so you got to get him healthy. And then with that young guard that just came up, the one they just drafted last year, the rookie (VJ Edgecombe) he is a very, very exciting basketball player.”
Payton believes Philadelphia now has enough high-end talent to compete with anyone in the conference.
“They have four players that can play, and in that East, all you need is to have four players to play,” he said. “You’ve seen Philly, what they did this year in the playoffs, and they just ran out of steam. Now you add Jaylen Brown, who is going to be there, I think the whole season where he’s going to play, it’s going to make it a problem for a lot of people in the East, and that Philly team is going to be somebody to reckon with.”
The trade, finalized on July 6, sent Brown to Philadelphia in exchange for Paul George, a 2028 first-round pick that can convert into a swap favorable to Boston, an unprotected 2031 first-round pick, and second-round selections in 2028 and 2030.
While many questioned why Boston would send a four-time All-Star to a division rival that eliminated the Celtics in the first round, Payton suggested the organization had little choice because the relationship had deteriorated.
“I think the relationship just got out of hand,” Payton said. “I think it was what it was, a relationship that couldn’t be fixed, as you’ve seen it. It kept going and going in the media, and that relationship can’t be fixed. You cannot keep talking about trading somebody and doing things, and then all of a sudden you come back and he comes back to your team, it’s not going to be a good relationship.”
Payton added that criticism of Boston’s return misses the broader picture.
“A lot of people are saying they didn’t get enough, or whatever, but nowadays in this NBA, this is a business,” he said. “You’re getting a lot of young kids now in these drafts that’s coming up, so if you get four and five and six picks, you’re gonna build around that. You see how Oklahoma did it, they built around picks.”
The former Defensive Player of the Year also acknowledged that Boston may have ultimately chosen to build around Jayson Tatum rather than continue pairing him with Brown.
“It could have went that way,” Payton said when asked whether Tatum and Brown competing to be the franchise’s centerpiece contributed to the split. “Tatum is their guy, so they decided to go with him. It’s always happened, it’s just a business.”
Looking ahead, Payton expects the Eastern Conference to become even more competitive following Philadelphia’s addition of Brown and Miami’s acquisition of Giannis Antetokounmpo. He still views the Knicks as the team to beat but believes the 76ers have positioned themselves among the conference’s elite.
“I think Philly is going to be really good,” Payton said. “The New York Knicks are the champions, they’re going to have to be dethroned.”
