76ERS OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCE ACQUISITION OF JAYLEN BROWN FROM CELTICS The Philadelphia 76ers officially unveiled their revamped roster Monday, completing the blockbuster trade for Jaylen Brown while also confirming the signing of free-agent guard Anfernee Simons. Philadelphia announced the acquisition of Brown from the Boston Celtics, sending veteran forward Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks to its longtime division rival. The 76ers also confirmed the signing of Simons, adding another perimeter option to a group now built around Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.Sports Brown, 29, arrives after spending his first 10 NBA seasons in Boston, where he became a five-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA second-team selection and the 2024 NBA Finals MVP. The third overall pick in the 2016 draft averaged a career-best 28.7 points last season, the fourth-highest mark in the league, while adding career highs in rebounds (6.9) and assists (5.1). Over his career, Brown has averaged 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.0 steals, shooting 47.8% from the field and 35.8% from 3-point range in 674 regular-season games (567 starts). He has three years remaining on the five-year, $285 million supermax deal he signed with Boston in 2023. “I’m excited to begin this next chapter in Philly,” Brown said. “From every conversation I’ve had, it’s clear this is a group that’s hungry, competitive and committed to winning; and that’s the kind of environment I’ve always embraced.” The 76ers are betting on Brown’s two-way game and postseason resume after a decade in Boston that included 142 playoff appearances (122 starts) and a championship run. Since entering the league in 2016, Brown’s 523 combined regular-season and playoff win total is the highest in the NBA. Philadelphia managing partner Josh Harris called Brown “one of the best two-way players in the league,” while thanking George for his time with the organization. George, 36, spent two seasons with the 76ers, averaging 16.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.8 steals in 78 total games. He now heads to Boston along with a package that includes Philadelphia’s unprotected 2031 first-round pick, a top-16 protected 2028 first-round pick tied to the Los Angeles Clippers, and second-round selections in 2028 and 2030. George has averaged 20.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.7 steals, shotting 44.0% from the field and 38.4% from 3-point range in 945 career games with the Indiana Pacers, Oklahoma City Thunder, Clippers and 76ers. Simons, 27, gives Philadelphia another shooter after averaging 14.3 points in 55 games with Boston and Chicago last season. The 27-year-old shot 38.5% from 3-point range and has hit at least 36% from deep in each of the past six seasons. While terms of the contract were not disclosed, ESPN reported it’s a two-year deal worth $12.3 million with a player option for the second season. ===== CELTICS OWNER ADMITS ‘FAN’ IN HIM DIDN’T LIKE TRADING JAYLEN BROWN Owner Bill Chisholm admitted the Celtics’ front office worked hard to persuade him that trading Jaylen Brown was the best path to winning. “The fan in me,” Chisholm said Monday in a joint press conference with team president Brad Stevens. “It was really tough. I’m accountable for it. Brad’s accountable to me for it. They came to the conclusion, they convinced me, this was the best way to win. I got there.” Chisholm denied the Celtics are taking a reputation hit by trading Brown, which he said would be “unacceptable,” even if most opinions on the deal that sent Brown to the division rival Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and draft picks haven’t painted Boston in a positive light. “We have to be the best. We want to be the best place for players to play,” Chisholm said. “Whether perception becomes reality, we have to deal with that, but that’s not my take on how these things went down.” Initial talks involved the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and others. Stevens said the Celtics spent a lot of time on trade offers and reviewed what alternatives might look like before trading Brown, a five-time All-Star, for George and multiple draft picks. “This was all about basically trying to win. I think we have the best front office in the NBA,” Chisholm said. “That’s the mandate, was to win. We’ll spend whatever it takes to do that.” Stevens admitted there is no immediate financial relief from the deal and it was a “hard decision,” admitting he understands why the trade wouldn’t be popular in “many circles.” Analytics guru Michael Zarren was part of the discussions. “It was a really hard call. We understood that coming into it. That’s something you have to consider and weigh,” Stevens said. “You take in every angle and every ounce of information that you have and you put it all together. For me and Mike and his staff might get mad at me, (analytics) was a small piece of information for me. We did the deal because we got Paul George and we got draft assets.” Brown said on his livestream reaction to the trade “things went left” after what he felt were good talks with the Celtics about the future. “If he feels that way, I’m sorry about that. I really am,” Stevens said. “As I said, we had a lot of open discussions about here or elsewhere. He and, at least his agent, were well aware of even teams that had the most cursory of interest. That was well-communicated or at least communicated. I’m sorry that he would feel that way.” Brown, 29, was fourth in the league in scoring in 2025-26 at 28.7 points per game. He finished sixth in NBA MVP voting last season, working most of the year as the primary offensive option while Jayson Tatum recovered from Achilles surgery. Stevens clarified that even following the trade there are still no cost-cutting mandates coming from Chisholm, who was seated to his immediate left. He said the Celtics are still shopping for a player who could fill the mid-level exception of around $10 million. George entered the NBA in 2010 with the Pacers and turned 36 in May. The nine-time All-Star averaged 17.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game last season but has played more than 56 games in a season only once — 74 in 2023-24 with the Clippers — since 2019. ====== HAWKS ACQUIRE G AARON WIGGINS IN TRADE WITH THUNDER The Atlanta Hawks acquired guard Aaron Wiggins from the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday in exchange for second-round draft picks in 2030 and 2032. Wiggins, 27, was a second-round draft pick by the Thunder in 2021 and made 35 starts the following season as a rookie when he averaged 8.3 points with 3.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 50 total games. During the Thunder’s championship season of 2024-25, Wiggins made 26 regular-season starts then played in 22 of 23 playoff games as Oklahoma City defeated the Indiana Pacers in a seven-game NBA Finals. Wiggins has averaged 8.7 points with 3.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 339 regular-season games (100 starts) over the past five seasons. He has averaged 4.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 45 playoff games over nine separate series. ===== REPORT: CLIPPERS SIGN RUI HACHIMURA TO 2-YEAR, $28M DEAL Free agent forward Rui Hachimura is jumping across town from the Lakers to the Clippers on a two-year, $28 million deal, ESPN reported Monday. Hachimura has spent the past three-plus seasons in Los Angeles, averaging 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 68 games (41 starts) for the Lakers in 2025-26. He confirmed his departure with a farewell post to Lakers fans on Instagram. “Thank you Lakers Nation for the past 3 years. We had some great moments and I will always remember the memories we made together,” Hachimura wrote. Hachimura, 28, has career averages of 12.6 points and 4.6 rebounds in 405 games (264 starts) with the Washington Wizards (2019-23) and Lakers. The Wizards drafted the Gonzaga product with the ninth overall pick in 2019 and traded him to the Lakers on Jan. 23, 2023 for Kendrick Nunn and a package of draft picks. ===== REPORT: QUINTEN POST SIGNING $30M OFFER SHEET WITH GRIZZLIES Restricted free agent Quinten Post is signing a three-year, $30 million offer sheet with the Memphis Grizzlies, ESPN reported Monday. The Golden State Warriors have until 11:59 p.m. ET on Tuesday to match the offer for the 26-year-old big man. Post averaged 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds and knocked down 93 3-pointers in 67 games (35 starts) for the Warriors in 2025-26. The 7-footer has averaged 7.8 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 36.4% from beyond the arc in 109 games (49 starts) since Golden State drafted him in the second round (52nd overall) in 2024. ===== REPORT: RAPTORS, KAWHI LEONARD TO BEGIN EXTENSION TALKS The Toronto Raptors are expected to begin contract extension talks this week with forward Kawhi Leonard and his new agent, ESPN reported on Monday. Leonard, 35, has one season and $50.3 million remaining on the three-year extension he signed in 2024 with the Los Angeles Clippers. The previous deal was negotiated by Mitch Frankel, but the seven-time All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP has hired Harrison Gaines of SLASH Sports to oversee negotiations with Toronto, per the report. Leonard is eligible to sign up to a two-year, $123.7 million extension as he rejoins the Raptors, per ESPN. The Clippers agreed on June 30 to trade Leonard to the Raptors for veteran forward Brandon Ingram, third-year guard Gradey Dick and a package of draft picks. The trade can be made official on Monday. Leonard averaged 26.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in 60 games (all starts) with Toronto in 2018-19, his lone season with the team before moving on to the Clippers. He was named Finals MVP after leading the Raptors to a six-game series victory over the Golden State Warriors. After a string of injury-plagued seasons, Leonard averaged a career-high 27.9 points along with 6.4 rebounds in 65 games (all starts) last season to finish seventh in the MVP voting and earn his seventh All-Star nod. The two-time Defensive Player of the Year has career averages of 20.7 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals in 798 games (769 starts) with the San Antonio Spurs (2011-18), Raptors and Clippers (2019-21, 2022-26). ===== REPORT: KINGS WAIVE VETERAN F DEMAR DEROZAN The Sacramento Kings waived veteran forward DeMar DeRozan on Monday after both sides worked to resolve a partial guarantee in his contract for next season, ESPN reported. The move is expected to make DeRozan one of the top free agents on market after playing for 17 seasons, including the past three with the Kings. A six-time All-Star, DeRozan averaged 18.4 points with 2.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 77 games (all starts) for the Kings last season at age 36. DeRozan is the 16th leading scorer in NBA history with 26,711 career points.Basketball He has scored 21.1 points with 4.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 1,264 career games (1,252 starts). The ninth overall selection in the 2009 NBA Draft out of Southern California, DeRozan has played for the Toronto Raptors (2009-18), San Antonio Spurs (2018-21), Chicago Bulls (2021-24) and Kings. ===== GIANNIS ANTETOKOUNMPO TRADE TO HEAT BECOMES OFFICIAL The Miami Heat’s new era now begins after Giannis Antetokounmpo’s trade from the Milwaukee Bucks became official Monday. The Heat sent the Bucks a package featuring guard Tyler Herro, center Kel’el Ware, forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., guard Kasparas Jakucionis, 2026 first-round draft pick Nate Ament, a big man from Tennessee (No. 13 overall), further first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, a pick swap in 2030 and a 2033 second-round selection. Milwaukee also is sending forward Bobby Portis to Miami to complete a deal that first was reported June 22. Antetokounmpo posted a farewell video to Milwaukee on social media. “The city of Milwaukee will always be in my heart,” Antetokounmpo said, in part. “This is my home. And this is a place that I had my kids. My mom is here. My father is here. My brothers played here. It made me the man that I am today. That will never, ever change.” Bucks general manager Jon Horst released a statement on Antetokounmpo’s successful tenure with the team, while addressing Bucks fans. “We watched Giannis embrace Milwaukee as his home and forge a connection with Bucks fans that transcended basketball,” Horst wrote. “He became an ambassador for our city around the world and a source of pride for our entire state. … On behalf of our entire organization, please join us in expressing our deepest gratitude to Giannis and his family.”Basketball Antetokounmpo, 31, was the subject of trade rumors for more than a year. He is under contract for 2026-27 with a $58.5 million cap hit and has a $62.8 million player option for 2027-28, according to Spotrac. The 10-time All-Star played a career-low 36 games in 2025-26 and Milwaukee missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season. Antetokounmpo hyperextended his left knee on March 15 and was shut down for the rest of the season, though he feuded with the team regarding his health. Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to an NBA championship in 2021 and is the franchise’s all-time leader in games played (895), points (21,531), rebounds (8,882), assists (4,484) and blocked shots (1,088). Herro, 26, averaged 20.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists in 33 games (28 starts) last season, when he was slowed by multiple injuries. Through seven NBA seasons, he has career averages of 19.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.1 assists. Ware, 22, logged career highs of 11.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest last season in his second NBA campaign.Games Jaquez, 25, was the runner-up to the San Antonio Spurs’ Keldon Johnson in Sixth Man of the Year voting last season. In his third NBA campaign, he produced 15.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, all improvements on his career 12.1, 4.4 and 3.3 figures, respectively. Jakucionis, 20, contributed 6.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 53 games (12 starts) as a rookie for Miami last season. The four veteran players headed to the Bucks had played all of their NBA careers with the Heat. About The Author troyderengowski61@gmail.com See author's posts Post navigation NBA NEWS
