The Real Reason Boston Traded Jaylen Brown (It's Not What You Think)

Celtic Chalk Talk July 13 2026 === squadcaster-4327_1_07-13-2026_123758: [00:00:00] Welcome to another week of "Celtic Chalk Talk." This week we'll talk about a few things about the Celtics. My name's Steve Purciello, been a Celtic fan forever since the Bill Russell days, could tell stories, and in fact we're going to in the future. But before I begin, I wanna just talk about something. This Peach Basket network is a group of fans. We are all basketball fans. We're not affiliated with a team, we're not affiliated with anything, but we like to talk about either things we like in teams or the league. I have a couple pods on this, as do other people, and I must say some of the pods are outstanding and I really suggest you look into thePeachBasket.net and pick out a pod you might like. You're gonna be surprised. We're good. I would suggest you subscribe and you get involved 'cause it's a good thing that we do. Now, before I begin, I'm just gonna make this statement. In the future, 'cause [00:01:00] after summer league's over, things kinda quiet down, unless the Celtics do something major, I am gonna spend the next couple weeks till I guess training camp talking about the top 10 Celtics I believe of all time. Now, just keep in mind, I'll start with number 10 in two weeks and go work down, but keep in mind I have seen it all. Not Bo- I saw a little bit of Bob Cousy. I was a little boy 10, 11 years old when he retired. I remember watching it on TV when he did retire and the person yelling from the stands, "We love you, Bob." But we love you Cousy rather. But I go way back. My point being that I will name what I believe are the top 10, and I'll give some memories, and I'll talk a little bit of stats, but each week I'll pick the 10, nine, eight, seven, six, and right on down through. And it's fun. It's fun to look at that, and I look at it from a different perspective than a lot of people because I've seen a lot of it. And I'll talk about the [00:02:00] television and everything else and how that's played an impact in the last 20, 30 years compared to going back into the '60s. But let's start today. Let-- I, I wanna put this Jaylen Brown thing to bed. I really do, but I wanna talk about a couple things. We saw Brad Stevens talk last week, and I've done a little bit of thinking, and this is my own opinion. I'm not gonna say it's right. The ch- the decision to trade him at that time had to be made soon because Brown had that... And here's Brown trying to figure out what's going on and talking about being traded every day. He's saying, "What's going on?" Now, the only way to make Brown happy if they don't trade him is to give him the extension. The extension date when they can offer it was coming up. You didn't want an unhappy Brown if you're gonna not pay him that 70 million for the next couple years. So Boston had to make a decision. Now, why Paul George? And a lot of people are very, just like myself wait a minute. You could have gotten more for [00:03:00] Pa- for Brown." Probably could. J- Paul George is an interesting player. He was a real good player in his day. He's not good. He played well in the playoffs, shot over 50% from three against Boston. But Paul George got a two-year contract, one year plus an option, which I'm sure he'll take. Brown had three years left. What I think Brad Stevens figured, "Okay, I got him for this year. Now, I can probably find a team and ship him out after the year, and maybe I have to attach a draft pick," which is fine because now you've opened up $50, $60 million in your cap. If you kept Brown, and I've said this, if you kept Brown, first of all, the idea being, as I just mentioned you had to make a decision on the long term and I don't know if they wanna do that. He's not a $70 million player, although he's getting paid a lot of money now. He's around 60. But if you kept Brown, that was the problem, so you couldn't [00:04:00] really do it, and you had to make a move quickly. George, maybe they could've gotten more, but George fulfills something where they can deal him and open up money in their cap, or they can keep him for two years and open up money, and you can go out and spend that money in ways that can break it down. Now, my belief about basketball in the future of the NBA, I believe the CBA is gonna, unless they change it, is going to be here for a couple more years with that second apron, dreaded second apron The future of basketball will make it where younger players are more valued. You saw the Cavaliers have just signed Donovan Mitchell to an extension. He'll be 34 or 35 making a lot of money. Now, what does that mean? If you think about it, you're tying up so much money in your cap, if you sign another guy for a lot of money, you don't have much money to spend on a team. And I don't think Donovan Mitchell at 34, it's diminishing [00:05:00] returns. I really believe the NBA is becoming a league where it's young and young talent, and they don't get paid as much as a 30-year-old. Remember, best ability to have is availability. Do you think Donovan Mitchell at 34 will be playing as many games a year as he does now? Look at people like Paul George. Look at Giannis. They don't play as much because they'll get hurt a lot more easily. So those are thoughts. Now let's switch over and let's talk about the Summer League for a little bit I saw both games. Summer league is sloppy 'cause you're used to NBA basketball, and these guys are better in the NBA. You see a couple guys sprinkled in that play some NBA but really don't get a great deal of time in the NBA. And we'll talk about the individuals. The thing I always look at, I'm not looking at a team. I'm looking at the d- a, a player on a team who can dominate in the summer 'cause then I start thinking they might be able to fit in. Now, there's [00:06:00] also roles, and Ugo fits a role, and we'll talk about him in a second. But there's also roles for players. But you need somebody that has got that confidence and ability to take charge in the summer, and that's where I wanna talk about a couple players that I think have futures with the Celtics. First one I'm gonna talk about is Ugo. Ugo's gotta realize he can't force things in the summer. He's forcing the game. Let the game come to him and make plays. He's trying to make a play out of nothing, and he's doing some things that aren't sensible. He's turning the ball over. Defensively, he doesn't look as good. He's getting beat. He's fouling. He's just not right, and I think he's putting a lot of pressure on himself. He's gotta calm down. Remember, Boston's got a lot in belief that Ugo will become a real good player. He needs to get better offensively, and I'm starting to believe he will after watching him. Though he didn't shoot well in these games, I just think it's there, and it will come. And if that comes, you got a real [00:07:00] good player on your-- potential All-Star type player. So I kinda like Ugo. I know he's not played great, but I like him. Amari Williams, very interesting, and I've watched him, and he does things that are tremendous. And then he does stupid things like throwing the ball away or just miss a pass or just a bad shot. He doesn't look like a great shooter, but he's got potential. I really believe this year is a make or break for Amari. He's gotta eliminate all the silly mistakes and begin to pick up his game. Defensively, he's got a knack for blocking shots. Very important in the league, and he could become a rim protector. But there's so many little things. He's one of them guys the Celtics might give up on, and two or three years after, he becomes an NBA solid player. B- but being the Celtics or any team, you gotta make decisions. You can't keep him as a two-way player for forever. So th- that's an interesting thing. Now, Senek, [00:08:00] who-- Senek or whatever way you wanna say it, he's got potential. It's gonna take time, though. You can't expect him to jump in and be good. One thing I loved, he hit that three at the buzzer in the first game against Toronto When you look at athletes and you like people who have that clutch gene, that's clutch. So you hope that he builds off that. He's also a presence under the basket. He can defend, and he's not shy about shooting. So he could probably play the four or the five, and he could be a decent player in a year or two. Body needs to get stronger, and he's just gotta play and probably will get his time in the G League and will get a chance to improve. Now, Mr. Mitchell, who played very well yesterday, he is a fascinating player. What a good athlete. What a good athlete And yesterday he shot two for five from three. They said the knock was he can't shoot. He doesn't always [00:09:00] look for a shot, likes to pass. He's lefty. He can play and he can defend, and he's a game-changer defensively, makes big steals, makes plays. I think there's a future. It might not be this year, but there's a future here, and that two-way thing might w- serve him good because he will play a lot and he will develop. His shooting didn't look as bad as they made him out to be, so if that comes, you got a real player that you found. You gotta hope. It's might not be now, but there's a future. Mr. Tanji, what a good shooter. Reminds me of Peterson, the boy-- the guy they had a couple years ago. He's gotta finish off his game. He's gotta complete the game, meaning he's gotta defend, although he didn't do a bad job defensively yesterday. He's also got to be able to play off the dribble and do different things besides just look for the three. If he does, he can help. He's a two-way guy, and he will be okay. Give him a year of development. You never know. The last one I [00:10:00] w- I wanted to talk about is Uzoh. He's been playing point guard. Not a bad player. Might have a future. Another one that could end up with a two-way. The Celtics have a two-way to give out. He could be the final two-way player. And he could be a helper to the Celtics down the road. I don't think so, but I think he's got a future in the NBA. Maybe at the end of a bench, but I think he's got a future at the NBA. Now, let me just look at this. For next year, the only person I believe that could help them that we're seeing in the Summer League is Ugo. In the future, do I belie-- I believe if Amari Williams could fix the mistakes, he probably could be, but I don't know if it'll be with the Celtics 'cause I think it's it takes time. Mr. Sinick, I think he can be a player for the Celtics in a year or two. Don't forget, he was a first-round pick, difference in contracts. Amari Williams, a second-round pick, would have a different contract than a first-rounder, so we give him more time to [00:11:00] develop. Tanji the jury's out. I don't know if he could. Uzoh, eh, the jury's out. I think he could be the back end of a bench, but we'll see. Mitchell, he could be very good. Very good meaning a solid player in the NBA, and that could be nice. Last one is Ugo. Ugo's gonna get time next year. We're gonna find out if he's ready, and if he is Look out, 'cause he could take off. And if he's ready means he can shoot. He can change a game. And by the way, check his plus-minus. It's always outstanding, and it tells you about his ability to change games. You gotta Ugo. You gotta hope that he just continues to improve. That's it. That's it. I'll be back again next week to talk more Celtic basketball, more about the Summer League, and anything else. If anything comes along, you know you can tune in and find me, and I'll be giving you some rundowns. Thanks again. See you next week. Take care.