Major outlets reported Wednesday night that the Boston Celtics are trading Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. The next day, some fans rushed to the Boston Proshop Thursday to scoop up merch bearing the star forward’s name and number before it was gone.
“I just wanted to show some kind of support for him, you know?” Celtics fan Holly Ruprecht said. “I feel sickened for him.”
Ruprecht already has Brown’s jersey at home, but stopped by the shop to grab another green T-shirt with his #7.
“I’m emotional about it,” Ruprecht said. “I’ve been a Celtics fan for like over 30 years. And this is the worst thing I’ve ever [expletive] seen in my life.”
In exchange for Brown, the Celtics will get forward Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks, ESPN reported. They’ll also save $2.9 million this year by offloading Brown’s $303.7 million, five-year contract, which was the highest in NBA history at its signing three years ago.
The reported terms of the trade have drawn widespread condemnation, with the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy calling it “one of the worst trades in Boston sports history.”
The Celtics have not yet put out a statement about the reported trade.
But some fans don’t think it’s a good deal.
“I was not happy with the return,” Boston fan Zachary Naffah said. “I was not happy with the idea of trading him in the first place.”
Off the court, Brown started the 7uice Foundation, which runs a program for kids from underserved communities in Boston and Atlanta. That community engagement is something else Naffah feels like the city will lose with Brown’s trade.
“He was an advocate. He was a spokesperson. He was a role model,” Naffah said. “I just think that — off the court, as well as on the court — he was everything that Boston should want in their athletes.”
