Celtics Trade Jaylen Brown to Sixers for Paul George, Draft Picks
In a shocking move, the Boston Celtics dealt 2023-24 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown to the rival Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and a handful of draft picks July 1.
The Celtics were the runner-up in the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade sweepstakes in the weeks prior, and with Brown reported to be the main trade piece in the deal, the relationship appeared to be unrepairable. The Celtics reportedly had offers from Portland and other franchises to trade Brown, but decided to deal him within the division to the team that eliminated them from the playoffs last season.
With the Sixers roster boosted and the Celtics reshaping their team, how will this impact the NBA Futures market for both teams? We take a look below.
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Philadelphia 76ers Futures
Brown was a top-five MVP candidate for most of last season with Jayson Tatum (Achilles) out and he earned second-team All-NBA status. Acquiring him quickly shifted the 76ers from around 60/1 to 22/1 at most sportsbooks to win the title.
Getting Brown offers major security for a team based around oft-injured center Joel Embiid, who has played 39 games or fewer in three consecutive seasons. The Sixers leaned more heavily on Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe last season and that electric backcourt now has an All-NBA wing to share the load.
The Sixers dropped from 20/1 to 9/1 to win the Eastern Conference and from 22/1 to 6/1 to win the Atlantic Division while weakening one of their main competitors. Note that division still contains the defending champion New York Knicks and a Toronto Raptors team that recently acquired Kawhi Leonard in a big trade.
FanDuel Sportsbook is offering +135 odds for the 76ers to win 50-plus games this season and +1200 odds for them to top 60 wins. A more reasonable market offers -190 odds for the Sixers to reach 45 wins. The core line for 76ers wins is 47.5 at FanDuel.
Boston Celtics Futures
The Celtics might still be making moves and they have some flexibility after shedding Brown’s $304 million deal. Boston acquired Mitchell Robinson and Mike Conley in small moves prior to trading Brown.
Sportsbooks are holding relatively high on Boston’s futures with their title odds down from 7/1 to 10/1 across the industry and their odds to win the Eastern Conference only slightly downgraded initially from 3/1 to 4/1, although that number might continue to lengthen. The Celtics are still favored ahead of the 76ers to win the Eastern Conference, with odds slightly longer than the Knicks.
Boston is expected to win 50-plus games with FanDuel offering -135 odds on that proposition. That market could be impacted by the Celtics wildly exceeding expectations last year by going 56-26 to smash their 41.5 projected win total. Boston’s projected win total for this season sits at 50.5 in early July.
Jaylen Brown & Jayson Tatum Awards Market
After starring together for years and winning a championship, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are now rivals.
Brown, who finished sixth in NBA voting last year, was listed around +6500 to win MVP prior to the trade. Now his odds are actually longer at 100/1 at some books. Pairing him with Embiid and Maxey could ding his usage compared to the heavy load he shouldered last season without Tatum.
Tatum has shorter MVP odds at +2000 behind six players, although only one player (Giannis Antetokounmpo) is in the Eastern Conference. Now over a year removed from Achilles surgery, Tatum will be the unquestioned top option in Boston with Derrick White and Payton Pritchard serving as secondary playmakers. Paul George will take on some usage offensively, but his value was primarily on the defensive end in his age 35 season.
Photo Credit: IMAGN IMAGES
