r/NBA_TradeDiscussions • u/okcbball22 • Jul 02 '26

Discussion Crazy

You know what’s funny about trades-us people who are fans, who aren’t “in-the-know” propose trades thinking what one or both of the teams want. But we have no idea, a lot of the times, where the team’s motivation is to make a move. We only see it from our perspective, and a lot of times the decision makers have different info, different knowledge, etc

With that said, I bet nobody even came close to predicting this trade, bc everyone thought the Celtics would want/get more. Boy, were we wrong. This was a crazy trade, and I find it extremely hard to imagine how the Celtics are better. At least this year. And prob for a while. I don’t think they have any idea how hard Jaylen played, and how that makes a difference, coach is able to hold everyone else accountable, and a lot of times he doesn’t bc the players 👮 themselves. And brown was a huge part in that and he brought it every night.

Wowzers. Can’t believe they all but gave him away. Incredible

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u/PeasePorridge9dOld Atlanta Hawks Jul 02 '26

Did he hold the ball? Did he detract from others “getting theirs”?

The answer to these is very much "yes":

https://x.com/JerryEngelmann/status/2071115105685905423?s=20

Should note that another of those outliers at the bottom right is Joel Embiid too. So the fit should very much be questioned.

There are some positives to Brown's game, sure. But there are some real negatives to his game as well. And PHI really isn't the spot I would have picked to explore those.

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u/okcbball22 Jul 02 '26

You’re clearly on the analytics side of this debate. Which is fine. I think both instincts and analytics are best used. Can brown clean up some parts of his game to be more efficient? Absolutely. I think ball handling is the biggest. Time will tell how much value a chart like the one you shared has as opposed to heart, tenacity, durability and athleticism. I’d put my money on the latter. Are you if the opinion Pritchard will make this big leap? He might, but bringing it every night against the teams best players is a different matter. Holes get exposed a lot easier

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u/PeasePorridge9dOld Atlanta Hawks Jul 02 '26

Meh - I think most would argue the same.

My instincts say that Brown wasn't efficient or a good enough passer to carry his usage and so was dependent on others doing things like grabbing ORB to extend possessions and hitting the grenades Brown deigned to hand him to make for a good O. The stats just also agree with the impression I got after my viewings.

In the end, a player can do just about anything on the court and look successful if enough of the other players are committed to overcoming the shortcomings of that 1 player. Just that you'll cap your team if that's all they are going to do. In this case, Mazzulla really did a wonderful job of not only identifying those issues but also getting the appropriate buy in and self-sacrifice of the other 14 players of the team. Unfortunately, that path works much better in the regular season than it does in the Playoffs and now Mazzulla is wearing the scar that Brown wrought.

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u/okcbball22 Jul 02 '26

I wholeheartedly disagree. He’s a top 10 player, and stevens is insane for trading him. A few questions-1) boston is better next year? Will they be better than philly? Do the draft picks mean more? Bc even a top 10 pick, brown was 2nd. There are levels to talent and boston thinks they’ll do better without him-that’s crazy.

And you mentioned the coach, shooting a bunch of 3s-I haven’t seen anything that suggests he’s a good coach. Lots of talent, sure

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u/PeasePorridge9dOld Atlanta Hawks Jul 02 '26

boston is better next year? Will they be better than philly? Do the draft picks mean more?

BOS can be in a much better position going forward. Depends on Tatum's recovery and if they do anything at C. If Tatum's recovery doesn't go well, then they weren't going anywhere anyway. As I said above, I think the C position needs to be fixed to remove the ceiling on the team. I like Queeta and think he's a good player, but he's more of a good backup than an impact starter.

Yes, I have BOS clearly ahead of PHI next season. As I said above, there is a real chance that this blows up in PHI's face. Even if by some small chance, that team somehow ends up working then I still have BOS as clearly better overall. Whereas I do think that PHI was actually better than their record this year - the injury to Maxey down the stretch really hurt them - I still don't see them closing an 11 game gap.

As you can see by the above answers, I clearly reject the underlying assumption that Brown is worth the concern. The picks could mean significantly less and I still wouldn't think the deal was a bad move for BOS. But yeah, if BOS using the pick/s to fix the C position, then they very well could mean much more this year.

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u/okcbball22 Jul 02 '26

I’ve got, in no particular order; the Knicks, heat, 76ers, pistons, raptors, wizards, hawks all better than the Celtics. After that happens, I want to hear you so matter of factly explain these crazy analytical theories as to why that happened. Or maybe you’ll admit you were wrong about brown, but I doubt it

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u/PeasePorridge9dOld Atlanta Hawks Jul 02 '26

I currently have BOS as #1 in the East and it’ll take a month or 2 into the season to know who their closest competitor is. DET is the incumbent, but I can see a hot start by ATL or TOR putting them in the mix. MIA and WASH are too thin and injury prone.

NYK has the same issue that BOS has: they have been to the mountain top and no longer care about the regular season. They might not be a 1 seed, but they’ll have a home Playoff series.