The 76ers didn’t tiptoe into summer. They went straight for the biggest swing on the board, landing Jaylen Brown from the Celtics on July 2 in a blockbuster that sent Paul George and four draft picks to Boston.
That move instantly changed the shape of Philadelphia’s roster. Brown now joins Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey to form a new front line of star power, and the early read around the league is that the Sixers have put themselves in the thick of the Eastern Conference race. Sophomore VJ Edgecombe and free-agent addition Dean Wade are also projected into the starting group, adding more pieces to a lineup that suddenly looks loaded.
Brown arrives with plenty of weight behind his name. He’s coming off a massive season in Boston, putting up 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game, while also carrying a 2024 Finals MVP trophy. In Philadelphia, he steps into an offense built around Embiid and Maxey, giving the Sixers three legitimate All-Star scorers on the same floor.
Kevin Durant has already taken notice.
The Houston Rockets forward was in town Tuesday for the MLB All-Star Game and spoke with NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark about the new-look Sixers. Durant didn’t dress it up.
"Dangerous, dangerous, dangerous," Durant said. "It's gonna be exciting, I'm happy for him. It's a fresh start, and Philly fans are going to love him."
He added: “Philly fans have the most passion”
“Dangerous”
Kevin Durant on Philly and Sixers trading for Jaylen Brown
Kevin Durant is here at the All-Star game and does he does know where LeBron James is going? pic.twitter.com/6hec31a9HJ
- John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) July 14, 2026
Durant’s reaction lands in a summer where the East has been turned upside down. The Heat traded several young players to bring in Giannis Antetokounmpo to pair with Bam Adebayo. The Raptors also agreed to a blockbuster for Kawhi Leonard, though that deal is on hold while the NBA investigates the Clippers.
Boston, meanwhile, looks different on paper after moving Brown. George is 36, has not played more than 41 games in the last two years, and is set to make more than $54 million this season. Celtics president Brad Stevens said the team made the deal because it didn’t want 70% of the salary cap tied to just two players.
At the top, the Knicks still set the standard after winning their first championship in 53 years behind Finals MVP Jalen Brunson. They also knocked Philadelphia out in the second round last season, which makes the Sixers’ aggressive response easy to understand.
Durant has seen enough of these names, and enough of this conference, to know what the move means. In his eyes, Philadelphia belongs in the same conversation as the teams built around Antetokounmpo and Leonard.
With Embiid, Maxey and Brown now together, the message is clear: the gap at the top of the East just got a lot smaller.
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For a team that has spent plenty of time living with the tradeoffs that come with a traditional center, that matters. Drummonds offensive package is more varied than people tend to remember, and his recent shooting numbers suggest there may be more to his fit than just backup minutes and rebounds. The bigger question is how much of that translates into a rotation that already has plenty of mouths to feed, and how the Knicks plan to use him when the games start to tighten. [Read more 🡒]