Knicks Can't Help But Look at Celtics Differently Now

The Eastern Conference is in a very different place than it was before the Sixers-Celtics mega deal, and the Knicks are looking at Boston a little differently now that the trade is complete.

The Knicks' dynamic with the Celtics has changed. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It felt like Jaylen Brown was always going to be dealt, but the Celtics sending him to a direct rival in the Sixers feels like a total head-scratcher. Even if Brown was disgruntled after word got out that he was a part of the deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo, where he went doesn't make sense.

If you're the Knicks, though, Boston's dysfunction should have them feeling like they're sitting pretty in the Eastern Conference right about now.

The new-look Celtics shouldn't scare the Knicks much

Things could change, of course. The Celtics received two first-round picks and two second-round picks in the Brown deal, so they could always use that draft capital to improve their roster.

Trey Murphy is one name they've been linked to all summer, and that could still be on the table. There may be even more urgency to get that done after trading Brown.

Even if a Murphy deal does materialize, though, their best chance at eclipsing the Knicks and winning again would have been by somehow making it work between Jayson Tatum and Brown.

The moment the Knicks broke the Celtics pic.twitter.com/XCoCmRsf7t

— Matteo Piper Jenks 🧲 🇮🇹 (@MattPiperJenks) July 1, 2026

In a lot of ways, the biggest winner from that Antetokounmpo mega deal wasn't the Heat, but the Knicks themselves, just from the sheer fallout of what happened after.

While the trade puts Miami in a good place, it's hard to imagine that, on paper, their starting five of Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo, Davion Mitchell, Pelle Larsson and Andrew Wiggins can beat the Knicks in a playoff series. That's with the addition of Tim Hardaway Jr, too.

As for the Celtics piece in this, Boston's best chance to match the Knicks in an arms race would have been landing Antetokounmpo and pairing him up with Tatum. Instead, they felt like they had to trade Brown and take on the albatross that is Paul George's $54,126,380 AAV this season.

As it stands, their starting five is Tatum, George, Knick Mitchell Robinson, Payton Pritchard, and Derrick White.

While losing Robinson was a blow to the Knicks, counting on him to log more minutes than he did last season feels like a disaster waiting to happen.

Robinson could prove everyone wrong and have a season similar to his 2022-2023, but Boston is counting on him to have a career season to even come close to matching the salary it paid him. It's clear that 2022-23 campaign had ramifications on his body as well, to the point that Robinson suffered a few injury-filled seasons thereafter, and the Knicks were forced to manage his minutes last season.

While the talent is there, his body could be a ticking time bomb. Keeping Brown and having Robinson serve the same role he did with the Knicks last season would have helped the Celtics immensely, but it was another reason dealing the forward made little sense for Boston.

Right now, the Celtics feel like they're right back to where they were after Tatum tore his Achilles late in the fourth quarter of Game 4, with the Knicks up 113-104 and ready to take a 3-1 lead in that series. Just switch Brown and Tatum in that instance.

The Celtics were 1-3 last season against the Knicks without the duo on the floor for a majority of the year. The Knicks have their own moves to make, but it's hard to say that that head-to-head record changes unless Boston makes drastic changes post-Brown.