Last month, Boston Celtics owner Bill Chisholm and team president Brad Stevens finally addressed the shocking decision to trade Jaylen Brown, one of the franchise’s cornerstones, to the Philadelphia 76ers.
During a 45-minute interview at the Auerbach Center, the duo explained why Boston chose to send Brown to a rival in exchange for a package that left plenty of Celtics fans wondering whether the organization had made the right call.
On Tuesday, Chisholm revisited the decision and made it clear that he still stands behind it.
Bill Chisholm Stands Firm on Jaylen Brown Exit, Declares Celtics Have ‘Best Front Office in the NBA’
Chisholm initially stressed that there was never a mandate to trade Brown, particularly to Philadelphia. The co-founder and managing partner of Symphony Technology Group said Stevens and the Celtics’ front office carefully weighed the move before presenting it to him for approval.
On Tuesday’s “Greg Hill Show” on WEEI, the billionaire doubled down on his confidence in Boston’s basketball operations.
“I truly believe we have the best front office in the NBA, and I think it’s a source of advantage for us every day. So I definitely have a level of trust in Brad and his team,” Chisholm said.
Celtics owner Bill Chisholm joined @TheGregHillShow for the 24th annual WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon and discussed the Jaylen Brown trade:
“I truly believe we have the best front office in the NBA, and I think it’s a source of advantage for us every day. So I definitely… pic.twitter.com/MHRC8sxCU9
— Justin Turpin (@JustinmTurpin) August 18, 2026
“… We’ve got the best brains in basketball, and this is something that they had conviction around. I know I needed to be convinced, and that’s my job, but they did convince me. We did it, we did it with conviction, and we’ll see where it goes, but we feel good about it.”
The 57-year-old owner also explained that he had to separate emotion from the decision.
He said he needed to “take fan passion out of it” and “put all that to the side and just do the job.” More importantly, Chisholm said he had to “step back and realize you have a responsibility to protect and advance the legacy of the Celtics.”
That responsibility became particularly important because of the NBA’s punitive apron rules. Stevens repeatedly cited “optionality” as a major factor behind the trade, arguing that Boston needed greater flexibility to construct its roster.
“We may not be sitting here if there was a rule in the CBA that said the guys that you drafted that you signed to a 35 percent supermaxes count as 25 percent of the cap,” Stevens said. “Because then that would allow you to build out towards the aprons with a lot more flexibility, but the reality is that those are hard to build.”
Brown had three years and $185 million remaining on his contract and was eligible for a two-year, $142 million extension. Boston instead acquired Paul George, who is owed $110.8 million over the next two seasons, including a player option in the final year.
Stevens then added veteran center Mitchell Robinson on a three-year, $47 million contract and re-signed Neemias Queta to a four-year, $56 million deal.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia used the Brown trade as part of its push to land LeBron James and emerged as a heavy favorite to challenge the New York Knicks for Eastern Conference supremacy.
Chisholm has made his expectations clear: “We’re not playing for second.” He said he is in Boston to “raise banners.”
Now the Celtics have to prove that conviction was more than ownership talk. If Stevens’ gamble works, Chisholm will look like the owner who trusted his basketball brain trust at the right moment. If it fails and Brown is raising a championship banner in Philadelphia, the decision could haunt Boston for years.
