Earlier this summer, the Boston Celtics dealt 10-year veteran Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in an NBA-altering move.

The deal has ramifications all around the league that we'll see play out in real time this season.

1) The deal changes the calculus for the Celtics, who will now rely on Jayson Tatum to carry the group, in addition to a strong group of role players. Boston doesn't figure to be as good without Brown, but they still should be relevant come playoff time.

2) The 76ers instantly became one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference after acquiring Brown, but Brown's presence then helped them attract LeBron James in free agency as well. The 76ers are now a favorite to win the NBA title for the first time in more than 40 years.

3) And with Brown and James in Philly, there is more credibility for the Eastern Conference as a whole. Often thought of as "lesser than" the Western Conference, the East now features excellent star power and excellent depth. 

Speaking on Sirius XM's NBA channel on Friday, Stevens talked about the trade, echoing his comments from earlier this summer, saying it was a hard decision. Stevens has a unique relationship with Brown, having coached him for the first half of his career. As an executive following that run, he saw Brown help take the Celtics to two NBA Finals, winning one. Brown was named MVP of the Finals in 2023-24 and finished sixth in MVP voting last season.

Stevens has been there every step of the way, which certainly would make the trade tougher. He's seen Brown grow up.

As all front office executives seem to these days, Stevens dropped the key buzz word of "sustainability." Essentially, Stevens is saying that the organization couldn't go on with multiple max contracts (Brown and Tatum), and they certainly couldn't do it as both players get eligible soon for re-upped max contracts.

He's saying that they needed to get some payroll flexibility so help build out the depth pieces around their roster. Fans don't like to hear it, because they think the word represents a fancy synonym for "cheapness," but there is some credence to not letting two players take up basically your entire payroll.

Speaking of radio interviews, Tatum was a guest on the 'Dan Patrick Show' on Thursday, and he delivered a lot of interesting revelations, including about the vulnerability that he felt when returning from his Achilles injury, and about his relationship with Brown.

Training camp will begin on Sept. 29 while the first preseason game is Oct. 8. The Celtics will open up the regular season on Oct. 20 against the Detroit Pistons.