"No Disrespect to Paul George": Draymond Green Shares Honest Thoughts on Celtics' Jaylen Brown Trade

Nearly everybody agrees that the Philadelphia 76ers' acquisition of Jaylen Brown was an uneven trade. While they got Paul George back in the deal, the consensus is that he's no longer the same player he once was, especially because of injuries.

Additionally, Jaylen Brown was the Finals MVP two years ago, and just played his best season yet. Everyone is sharing their opinions on the trade, including outspoken defensive star Draymond Green, who shared his thoughts on his podcast.

"No disrespect to Paul George, but this isn't an even swap," Green said. "I got a lot of love for PG, but like myself, PG is 36 years old. Not like myself, I'm going into year 15, I think PG is going into year 17."

"And Jaylen Brown, not even 30 years old, he's 29 years old and he's going into year 11," Green added.

He then highlighted that Brown was named to the All-NBA second team this past season and might have deserved a spot on the first team.

Green then said that, at this stage in his career, even George would agree that this deal is not even.

The deal, however, was not just a straight trade between Brown and George. The Celtics also received a handful of draft assets, specifically, two first-round (2028, 2031) and two second-round picks (2028, 2030).

While the Sixers are a top team at the moment, things can change before those picks are conveyed. By then, there is a chance that those two first-rounders land high enough that people can look back and say the deal was evenly conducted.

However, if the comparison were simply how the two athletes performed over the last two seasons, it's clear it's lopsided in favor of the 76ers.

Comparing Paul George and Jaylen Brown's Numbers Over the Last Two Seasons

If the Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown for the 2018-19 version of Paul George, this trade would be considered a real blockbuster deal.

That season, George posted a career-high 28.0 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. He also led the league in steals with 2.2 per contest, which is also a career-best. Also, he played 77 games that season.

Since then, he's played over 70 games in a season only one other time (74 games in 2023-24). Every other year, he was limited to under 60 games.

In 2024-25, he played 41 games, posting 16.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.8 steals. Then, over 37 outings last season, he averaged 17.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.6 apg, and 1.7 spg.

Those numbers are not bad at all. In fact, those numbers are the kind that elite starters post when they're not the number one or number two option on offense.

Do those numbers warrant being traded for a superstar-caliber player like Brown, who is in his prime? Definitely not.

Especially because in 2024-25, Brown posted 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals. Then, last season, he posted 28.7 points and 5.1 assists, both career highs, and 6.9 rebounds, tied for his best rebounding total.

Also, last season he played in 71 games, and the season prior he played 63.