Bob Myers didn’t spend the summer satisfied with a solid run and a good feeling about where the 76ers stood in the Eastern Conference. After Philadelphia reached the semifinals, plenty of people around the team were ready to talk about running it back. Myers had a different idea.
That push is what took him into the Jaylen Brown trade conversations, and on a recent podcast appearance, the 76ers president walked through how the deal came together. Once he heard Brown might actually be available, the whole thing changed quickly.
“You start hearing there’s a possibility, and the job then became ‘Is this a real thing?’ with Jaylen Brown… When Brad Stevens responded with ‘What are you offering?’
then you knew that there was a shot. Then it becomes 50 conversations, and both organizations did a great job of not leaking that.
I can’t presume to know why they did what they did, but why did we do it? We thought his game, his leadership; we needed an edge, and I think Jaylen Brown sets an edge,” said Myers on the ‘Cousins’ podcast.
“To win a championship, you need guys who are of that ilk, who are comfortable being uncomfortable, and he is one of those. I talked to him the day after [the trade] and said, ‘Don’t ever underestimate that you are a champion.
And that there is power in that, so use that with this team.’ And I said, ‘We need you to lead, so I’m going to ask you to lead.”
Myers knows a thing or two about building winners. He wasn’t on the floor for Golden State’s title runs, but he was the architect behind a Warriors team that collected four championships and reshaped the league, with Andre Iguodala and Kevin Durant joining Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson.
In Philadelphia, he hasn’t reached that summit yet, but the work has moved fast. Less than a year into the job, Myers has already helped push the roster forward after a respectable playoff run, and he went hunting for more star power to lighten the burden on Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. He wasn’t sure the Celtics would actually move their former Finals MVP, but the pursuit ended with Brown in Philadelphia and then the signing of LeBron James.
The appeal of Brown was obvious to Myers. He saw the kind of player who brings the right edge, the right mentality, and the kind of game that holds up when the pressure spikes.
Brown backed that up in 2024 with the Celtics, and his numbers tell the story too: 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 0.4 blocks per game on 47.7% shooting. For the 76ers, that kind of production has already put the franchise on a new path.
In Other News...
Kevin Durant Just Weighed In On The Sixers' Biggest Gamble
Kevin Durant is already seeing the appeal of the Sixers latest swing, and he is not shy about where he thinks it can lead. In weighing in on LeBron James joining Philadelphia, Durant called the setup a juggernaut, pointing to the mix of star power, experience and leadership as the kind of foundation that can change a teams outlook quickly.
From Durants perspective, the details matter almost as much as the name on the jersey. He noted that LeBron taking a minimum contract gives the Sixers a rare blend of talent and flexibility, while also giving them the benefit of a championship-winning coach and front office behind it. For Philadelphia, the bigger question now is whether all of those pieces can actually turn promise into the kind of season Durant believes is there to be had. [Read more 🡒]
Sixers Fans Have One Big Reason To Still Worry About Boston
The Celtics did not exactly stand still this offseason, even after losing Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia in the deal for Paul George. Boston also added Mitchell Robinson to deepen its center rotation, a move that gives the reigning Eastern Conference power a different kind of frontcourt look as it tries to keep pace at the top of the bracket. For the Sixers, the headline move is obvious, but the bigger takeaway may be how Boston has tried to rework its roster around Jayson Tatum without taking a full step back.
The problem for Philadelphia is that Browns scoring volume is not easy to replace, and the Celtics are betting they can spread that responsibility around while leaning on Georges two-way impact. If that works, Boston could still be a major problem for the Sixers in the East, especially if the new rotation finds its footing quickly. Even after the trade, there is enough talent in place to make Philadelphia wonder whether the path past Boston really got any easier. [Read more 🡒]
Kevin Durant Sees One Big Question In LeBron's Sixers Fit
LeBron James arrival on a veteran minimum deal instantly changes the conversation around the 76ers, because Philadelphia now has another marquee name alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown. Kevin Durant was among those taking a close look at the move, praising LeBrons mindset and his willingness to fit into different roles, the kind of flexibility that can make a loaded roster work instead of just looking good on paper.
Durant went a step further by comparing the Sixers depth to the championship Golden State teams he played on in 2017 and 2018, a reminder that star power alone is not always the hardest part to manage. For Philadelphia, the big question is less about whether the talent is there and more about how all those high-scoring pieces are going to mesh once the games start to matter. [Read more 🡒]