Quote · The Bill Simmons Podcast
The Jaylen Brown Colonoscopy Trade (and More NBA Summer Reactions) With Chris Ryan and Kirk Goldsberry
Where this was said
Jaylen Brown traded to the 76ers
At 50:24 · chapter starts 1:15
This chapter is the episode's most analytically ambitious. Bill Simmons draws a through-line from the '80s Celtics and Lakers staying together, to the cap-circumvention era ending, to free agency reshaping the '90s, to the second-apron hardcap now forcing teams to dump Finals MVPs to division rivals. Kirk Goldsberry lands the key stat: for the first time in NBA history, the league has had eight different champions in eight consecutive seasons. [1] — Kirk Goldsberry "For the first time ever, the NBA has had eight different champions in eight consecutive seasons. It's not a coincidence — the 2023 CBA made…" 49:40 The CBA, he argues, deliberately created this parity — but the cost is beloved players getting dumped and fan bases losing the long-term relationships that drive loyalty. His analogy that the second apron is the 3-point line of the 2020s crystallizes the structural shift. [2] — Kirk Goldsberry "The 3-point line was the dominant game-changing artifact of the 2010s. The hard cap second apron is the equivalent in the 2020s. It's chang…" 59:21 Bill Simmons then reveals a previously unreported detail: the Celtics-Giannis trade fell apart over one year and 5% of the cap in extension terms, illustrating just how consequential these financial hairsplits have become.
Jaylen Brown, a 2024 Finals MVP, was traded for a package worth less than Walker Kessler, who played just 5 games last season — a stark comparison of market values.
Philadelphia was actively shopping Paul George before this deal, willing to attach a first-round pick just to shed him. Then they got the 2024 Finals MVP for essentially that same package. Even the Sixers' own ownership couldn't believe it.
Before this trade, Philadelphia was willing to attach one first-round pick just to offload Paul George's contract — meaning Brown effectively cost Philly near nothing extra.
The financial logic doesn't fully explain why Boston gave away a Finals MVP. The real story is a relationship that deteriorated fast: Tatum returning from injury, Jaylen winning both the ECF and Finals MVP, a 1A-1B dynamic that turned toxic, and extension eligibility coming up. The Celtics panicked.
