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See the full story · 1 sourcesIsiah Thomas gets honest about how the Celtics messed up the Jaylen Brown situation originally appeared on The Sporting News .
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In the 2026 offseason, there have been a lot of blockbuster storylines. The Jaylen Brown trade from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers is definitely among the biggest. It is not only a big move for the 76ers , but it is the start of a new era in Boston.
Everyone got familiar with the duo of Brown and Jayson Tatum, but after a championship in 2024, it seems the finances could not sustain their superstar duo. The Celtics chose Tatum, but the way they went about this decision was not the best path.
NBA icon Isiah Thomas believes the Celtics made mistakes during the Jaylen Brown saga
During his time in the NBA, Thomas became a star on the Detroit Pistons . They did a lot of good things right, especially when building around him as the star player. That led to two championships in 1989 and 1990, which was a successful era for the franchise.
While they were not the perfect team, they did show they did well with building a championship-winning team. Over the past decade, the Celtics did well with building a competitive team. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals multiple times and the NBA Finals twice, winning it in their second attempt in 2024.
MORE: Jaylen Brown was unhappy about the disrespect he felt from the Boston Celtics
Unfortunately, that championship led to the Celtics investing a lot of money into the duo of Brown and Tatum. When they realized that it would be unsustainable, they decided to choose between the two, and they chose Tatum as the player who would stay in Boston.
"It definitely could've been handled better, and I think for all of us, we've never seen the Celtics organization act this way. The Celtics have always been the model... I think Jaylen Brown, he was an innocent bystander in all of this. He caught some strays and people going by just taking shots," Thomas said on SiriusXM NBA Radio about the Celtics' situation .
Thankfully for the Celtics, they still have a solid core with Tatum, Derrick White, and now, Paul George. It might not be the two Jays anymore, but having a loaded team can still help the Celtics compete for a championship in the 2026-27 season, just like the 76ers.
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Karl-Anthony Towns recognizes why it's weird that Mitchell Robinson will be playing for the Celtics
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