The NBA's CBA accidentally reignited a pair of historic rivalries

The NBA's collective bargaining agreement is forcing teams into difficult financial decisions. That became evident this offseason when the Boston Celtics traded star wing Jaylen Brown to the division-rival Philadelphia 76ers and the reigning champion New York Knicks did not re-sign backup center Mitchell Robinson.

Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens told reporters that "the path looked a little bit more challenging with 70% of our cap and such a high percent of our usage tied into two players [Brown and Jayson Tatum]." Meanwhile, shortly after the Knicks won the title, team owner James Dolan said "we cannot go into the second apron" during an appearance on a local radio station.

Dolan's refusal to cross the second apron all but ensured Robinson would not be returning to New York, as the Knicks entered the offseason roughly $20 million below it. Robinson wound up signing a three-year, $47.4 million contract with the Celtics via their non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Those two moves will likely more fuel to the fire of two historic rivalries up and down the Eastern seaboard. The NBA has its CBA to thank for that.

Jaylen Brown: 'There's no loyalty'

Two years ago, Brown was fresh off being named Finals MVP as he helped guide the Celtics to their first championship in 16 years. Now, he's preparing for his first season with the Sixers.

The Celtics trading Brown didn't come as much of a surprise. After all, they spent weeks dangling him in trade talks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. But once Antetokounmpo went to the Miami Heat, no one foresaw what was coming next with Brown—not even Brown himself.

Brown attended the World Cup quarterfinals between France and Morocco at Gilette Stadium and spoke to streamer "IShowSpeed" about the trade. When the streamer asked Brown what happened, Brown replied, "It's a good question. It's a real good question. I think a lot of people would want to hear that. They're asking that question right now. I don't know."

The Sixers still have yet to hold Brown's introductory press conference, so reporters haven't had a chance to ask him about the trade. However, the day after the trade, he posted a statement saying he was "still processing how this all went down" and was both "excited and disappointed at the same time."

The Sixers and Celtics have met an NBA-record 23 times in the playoffs, so there was already no love lost between the two sides. This past spring was the first time that the Sixers had toppled the Celtics in a playoff series in 40-plus years, and it was the first time in franchise history that the Celtics blew a 3-1 series lead.

Even had this trade not gone down, the Celtics would be out for blood every time they played the Sixers in 2026-27. Given Brown's reaction to the trade, it seems like he'll be eager to reciprocate that.

Mitchell Robinson: 'Y'all ain't want me'

After Robinson officially signed with the Celtics, the team's Twitter account posted a picture of him in his new jersey. One of Robinson's former Knicks teammates, Josh Hart, didn't take kindly to that.

Robinson didn't let that slide. On an Instagram story, he shared a picture of Hart's tweet with the caption, "F*ck off @jhart yall ain't want me."

It's easy to understand Robinson might be feeling salty toward the Knicks right now. He spent the first eight years of his NBA career in New York and helped them win their first championship in 53 years this past season. His reward for that was Dolan showing the door due to the second apron.

Days before free agency began, Robinson posted on Facebook that the past two weeks had "been the highlight of my life." A few days later, after agreeing to sign with the Celtics, he posted, "I can't wait to prove them wrong 🤘🏾"

He didn't specify whom he was referring to, but it's easy to make an educated guess.

This type of player movement is a feature of the league's CBA, not a bug. When a reporter asked NBA commissioner Adam Silver whether it was an "unintended consequence" that teams have to trade stars for financial reasons, Silver replied, "It's certainly not an unintended consequence."

"In the case of a league, it's in essence zero sum," he added. "So to the extent that [a team] doesn't re-sign a player or chooses to trade a player, of course that player goes to another team."

Silver has been doggedly pushing the NBA toward more NFL-style parity throughout his tenure as commissioner. This CBA was another step in that direction. However, the CBA doesn't dictate where teams have to send those players; it just forces them into picking and choosing once their roster gets too expensive.

The Celtics choosing to send Brown to a division rival—the same one that just sent them crashing out of the playoffs in embarrassing fashion—is only going to add more fuel to an already heated rivalry. Meanwhile, Robinson choosing to sign with the Celtics after the Knicks balked at re-signing him should help reignite that rivalry, too.

Thanks to the CBA, there will be no love lost throughout the Atlantic Division this year.

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