Most NBA fans remember exactly where they were the day that blockbuster trades went down—like the Luka Dončić midnight deal, for instance. Bill Simmons definitely will remember where he was the day the Celtics shipped out Jaylen Brown to the 76ers partly because of, er, other factors.
Simmons explained on the latest episode of his podcast that he didn’t tape an emergency reaction episode following the Brown trade since he was preoccupied. Apparently, the Boston superfan found out about it after undergoing a colonoscopy that day:
“I come out, my wife’s waiting to pick me up, and she goes, ‘They traded Jaylen Brown!’ I’m like, I had just woken up from anesthesia, and I’m not really coherent, and I’m like, ‘Where’d he go?’ She’s like, ‘To Philly, for Paul George and two first-round picks!’” Simmons said. “And I’m like, ‘I think I’m dead. I think I died. The anesthesia killed me, and now I’m a dead person.’ And I’m just trying to process it, it’s like I have a head injury, I’m like, ‘Are there more first-round picks?’
“... I’m like, ‘Alright, can you read me what the trade is?’ And she reads me the trade, and then I stumble out of this hospital place. So when this trade happened at 3:20 p.m. PT, I had a camera in my a-- and I had Paul George rammed up my a--. And that was happening at the same time. And that’s how I’m going to remember July 1st, 2026.”
Bill Simmons describes hearing about the Jaylen Brown trade from his wife picking him up from a colonoscopy:
— The r/BillSimmons Podcast (@rBillSimmonsPod) July 2, 2026
“I think I’m dead. The anesthesia killed me. Are there more first round picks?
When this trade happened I had a camera in my ass, and I had Paul George rammed up my ass” pic.twitter.com/sSZLVujEga
You’ve gotta hand it to Bill, he’s a hell of a storyteller.
Simmons went on to claim that on paper, the Brown trade didn’t look great. The Celtics got a pretty uninspiring return for the 2024 Finals MVP—a pair of firsts, a pair of seconds and Paul George—leading many, including Simmons, to publicly question Boston’s risky offseason decision.
“I think the thing they’re risking here is the fans in the city,” continued Simmons. “I would say [Paul George] has been a slightly defensive guy over the years. You’re risking Jaylen going to Philly and Philly being really good right away, you’re risking the Celtics—whatever the team they have now, not playing as well as they thought they were initially, and you’re taking a last year feel-good thing where everybody liked everybody. ... This changes the energy, so they better be right on this.”
What Jaylen Brown said about his blockbuster trade to 76ers
Brown, who will now join his second NBA team after a decade in Boston, has since shared a public statement bidding farewell to his former home while also looking ahead to a new chapter in Philly.
“I’m still processing how this all went down. I’m excited and disappointed at the same time. I earned my respect from this city. I never asked for shortcuts or special treatment. I simply showed up every day, put my head down, and accepted every challenge,” the NBA champ wrote. “... As one chapter closes, another begins. I’m excited for what’s ahead and grateful for the opportunity to join Philadelphia. Every city has its own identity, its own passion, and its own expectation. I respect that, and I’m looking forward to earning that respect the only way I know how.. through the work.”
Brown never reportedly submitted a trade request, and despite serving as a key piece of Boston’s championship core, it would seem the Celtics were the ones ready to move on first. Boston dangled Brown in a trade package to try and acquire then-Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo earlier this offseason, but that failed. The organization continued shopping him until it found the right price from the 76ers, marking the end of an up-and-down era for Brown on the only team he’s ever known and paving the way for a new star to help Jayson Tatum and Co. contend for a title next season.
