'That's Just Crazy': NBA Legend Rips Celtics for Jaylen Brown Trade image
David Butler II-Imagn Images
It's safe to say Charles Barkley isn't a fan of how the Boston Celtics handled the Jaylen Brown trade.
The NBA legend, who lives in Philadelphia in the summer, made his feelings on the deal crystal clear on a recent episode of "The Bill Simmons Podcast."
"I have been asked 9,755 times why the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to Philly. And 9,752 times, I say I have zero idea why," Barkley said. "That was, to me, one of the craziest trades I've seen in my 40 years in the NBA. I can't explain it.
"OK, the Celtics don't want Jaylen Brown. I understand it. Clearly they did not want Jaylen Brown. There's no way in hell you trade him that close to a team you gotta play five times in the regular season and probably going to have to beat to get through in the playoffs.
"The Sixers were dead. They were irrelevant — they had an aging Paul George and an aging Joel Embiid for the next two years with Paul, three or four years with Embiid. They were dead in the water, irrelevant. Now all of a sudden, they get Jaylen, they're back in contention. And then you throw the cherry on the top with LeBron.
"There's nothing anybody can say to me that I can go on TV or on your podcast or anywhere in the world and say that trade made sense for the Celtics. That's just crazy."
MORE: How Celtics' Paul George Trade Compares to Clippers' Paul George Trade
Barkley certainly isn't alone in that feeling. NESN's Jake Mozarsky gave the Celtics a D+ grade for the trade. The Sporting News' Stephen Noh gave Boston a slightly better but still nothing-to-brag-about C-.
The reaction was less about the Celtics trading Brown than it was about what they got in return — an aging George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks. Many expected the Celtics to get more for a five-time All-Star who had just finished sixth in MVP voting and earned All-NBA Second Team honors.
The trade might never make sense to some, but we do know why Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens made it. He clearly didn't think the Celtics, as constructed, could get where they wanted to go. He also discussed how the Celtics had a two-year window because of the NBA's apron rules.
While that explanation might make sense, it doesn't sound like it'll be good enough for Barkley.
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