After losing to the world champion New York Knicks in the second round of the playoffs last season, many thought the Philadelphia 76ers had little hope.
Joel Embiid, who has battled injuries, is set to begin a three-year, $192 million extension next season, and Paul George had two years left on his contract that would pay him $110 million.
However, after Wednesday’s news, there is a lot of hope in Philly.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Boston Celtics have agreed to trade five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.
According to Charania, the 2028 first-round pick that could convert from a first to a swap that is more favorable to Boston, and the 2031 unprotected Philadelphia first-round pick.
Now, Philadelphia has a “Big 4” with Tyrese Maxey, Embiid, VJ Edgecombe, and Brown, and they are in position to make a deep playoff run. It is now championship-or-bust in Philly. Give a lot of credit to 76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey for pulling off this move.
Last season, the 29-year-old Brown, who had an MVP-caliber season, averaged a career-high 28.7 points to go along with 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. With Jayson Tatum missing most of the year while recovering from an Achilles rupture, Brown led the Celtics to a 56-26 record, but they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the 76ers after blowing a 3-1 series lead.
Brown and Tatum did win one championship together, and it appeared they could be in a position to do it again, but whatever is going on behind the scenes has prevented that.
Regarding George, the 36-year-old who has missed a decent part of the last two seasons due to injuries and a suspension, if he can stay healthy, he is still solid. However, he’s no Jaylen Brown. It should be interesting to see what the Celtics do next. Boston can’t be done yet.
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