Category: NBA

Paul George was traded again on Wednesday in a blockbuster deal that brought Jaylen Brown to the Sixers. It’s been widely panned from Boston’s side, with our own Ricky O’Donnell noting that the Celtics have taken a step away from contention by taking on one of the worst contracts in the NBA, and losing a superstar in the process.

The trade means that George will have suited up for five teams, with three massive trades centered around the three-level scorer. Now that the Celtics deal is in the rearview mirror, we can look back at these staggering deals to see everything that has been given up for PG-13 over the years.

George was traded from the Pacers to the Thunder in 2017 for Victor Oladipo, who seemed destined to become a star — and Domantas Sabonis, who Oklahoma City took with the No. 11 pick the year prior. This was the smallest haul for George, but represented two young talents that were supposed to be cornerstones of the Pacers for years to come.

Next up was the mammoth trade to the Los Angeles Clippers in 2019, when the Clips were trying to build a big-two contender with Kawhi Leonard and George as the centerpieces. The NBA-shaping deal sent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Danilo Gallinari, FIVE first-round picks, and two pick swaps from L.A. to OKC.

George declined his player option with the Clippers in 2024, and signed a max-deal with the Sixers.

That brings us to Wednesday, when the 76ers traded George to the Celtics for Jaylen Brown, as well as a 2028 1st round pick/swap (whichever is more favorable), and two second-round picks. Brace yourselves for everything that Paul George has become over the years, because it’s WILD.

• Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
• Jaylen Brown
• Jalen Williams (2022 draft pick)
• Cason Wallace (2021 draft pick)
• Domantas Sabonis
• Nikola Topić (2024 draft pick)
• Tre Mann (2021 draft pick)
• Thomas Sorber (2025 draft pick swap)
• Aday Mara (2026 draft pick swap)
• Victor Oladipo
• Danilo Gallinari

Oh, and OKC still has one more 1st-rounder coming in 2027. So, you could either have Paul George, or literally everything needed to build an NBA franchise.

In order to understand the Jaylen Brown trade, its associated outrage, the mass confusion about how little Boston got back and the surrounding circus about how good Jaylen Brown may or may not be, we need to talk about another (in)famous trade. 

On Wednesday, the Celtics sent Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and two future first-round picks. That is shockingly little for an All-NBA, Finals MVP and borderline face-of-the-franchise level player not even in his 30s. But before we talk about Brown, George, the Celtics, the 76ers, Brad Stevens, Bill Chisholm, any of them, we need to talk about, you guessed it, Luka Doncic. 

After the Luka trade, there were a lot of takes. Most of them the same (“this is the worst trade in NBA history”), though some of them were stupid or just intentionally clickbaity (“the Mavericks won the trade”). But the best one, by far, was the nuanced counterpoint, made memorably (to me at least) by Chuck Klosterman. Loosely paraphrased: If you thought that that trade meant you could win the NBA Finals this year, then you can rationalize it. It’s not necessarily a correct diagnosis of your situation, but it would be a rational decision.

That is, to date, the only contrarian opinion on the Luka trade that I felt actually was fair to the parties involved. Every other formulation of “the Mavericks were going nowhere with Luka” or “defense wins championships” was either in bad faith or simply naive. But the view that treated Nico Harrison and the Mavericks as rational actors rather than visionaries or idiots was my favorite. 

The same may, eventually, be true for the Jaylen Brown trade: the return did not line up with his reputation, no, but it is likely that the Celtics made a rational decision based on their evaluation of the player and the market. And while the return is disappointing, arguably shocking, for Celtics fans (myself included), the trade should not be treated as patently insane. 

There are three possible explanations for why Boston pulled the trigger on such a flabbergasting lowball return: first, that Brown had demanded a trade and the two sides’ relationship had soured beyond the point of no return. This story has been repeatedly debunked by those with information from inside the Celtics organization. Second, that new owner Bill Chisholm is cost-cutting in order to make the team more profitable for his private equity partners. And while the influence of private equity in sports is a fascinating tale to tell, this version of events is an unnecessary and unlikely conspiracy theory; Boston offered Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo, a player they would have immediately signed to an extension that would have exceeded the remaining value on Brown’s deal. Total team cost is not the reason.

That leaves reason number three, essentially the only one that makes any sense if we’re trying to be rational: the Celtics and Brad Stevens had decided, at some point in the past year, that it was impossible to win another championship paying Jaylen Brown a supermax contract. 

As was a topic of serious discussion on social media this week, Brown’s advanced metrics suggest he is an inefficient player whose team actually performs better when he is off the court. And while this is an impossibly prickly debate to wade into, let’s just skip the wading, put on a hazmat suit and cannonball in.

Jaylen Brown has been a winning player in his career. The Celtics have won an absurd number of games this decade. He was instrumental to their run to win the 2024 NBA Championship, and will perhaps be the last man ever to wear number seven in Boston. He has also been a frustrating player to watch and to root for. His persistent issues with clumsy dribbling seemed to create problems for the Celtics out of thin air. His free throw shooting, which majorly improved the last two seasons, is still below 75 percent for his career. But he has declined as a three-point shooter and has never been especially efficient from the floor. None of that is contradictory; Brown is incredibly talented and has been very successful — he is also not Jayson Tatum, the Celtics’ utterly non-negotiable cornerstone, nor are the two on the same level. 

Delusions that Tatum and Brown were somehow 1A and 1B (or even equals) rather than the clear number one and number two that they actually are, have pervaded Celtics circles since I was a small child. These delusions are what led to the most vitriolic outrage from Celtics Land on Wednesday, but there is no doubt that Brown is a better player than what he was traded for; George is an aging, injury-prone wing with a similarly expensive albeit shorter contract. Even if Boston had long decided to deal Brown, why the Celtics decided to make this move now rather than wait for something better is perplexing. But it is also possible nothing better would ever become available; without a full understanding of the market, we can’t be sure.

Tatum is a supermax player, and he will remain as such for the Celtics into the future. Most likely, the Celtics front office concluded that Brown’s supermax contract made it impossible for them to realistically compete in the next three years. Yes, they won a title with both Tatum and Brown, but that was before they were both on mega-deals and with a once-in-a-generation superteam Boston quickly became unable to pay. It is not feasible for the Celtics to put that kind of talent around Tatum and Brown ever again.  

That meant trading Brown was rational, something I have repeatedly stated on various internet publishing platforms since what feels like the dawn of time but is actually just, like, last May. And even though Brown is an excellent basketball player, the contract appears to have prohibited any real market from emerging. Even I underestimated how little the Celtics and the rest of the NBA thought of Brown as an asset. 

Boston did not wind up with Antetokounmpo because the Milwaukee Bucks did not see a team built around Jaylen Brown as a viable path to contention, now or in the future. Nor did the rest of the NBA, as Brown will now be second or third option on the 76ers behind Tyrese Maxey and maybe Joel Embiid. His reputation was, and should continue to be, far greater than what the Celtics got in return. But the simple reality that he makes too much money for what he actually contributes is probably the straw that broke the camel’s back.

There may be another straw. We will probably get some kind of now-they-tell-us feature story that describes how the front office slowly became disenchanted with Brown and how their relationship frayed. There may be some organizational policy that is not public information, but I will not speculate. And you can read all about why the George-plus-two-picks deal is so lopsided for Philadelphia here by the meritorious Ricky O’Donnell. I’m not here to tell you it’s a good deal.

I’m just here to say that it is, for the most part, a rational decision. We may be tempted to think that teams and players are two individuals, relating on an even playing field with emotions and attachment and associated respect. But teams are not individuals; they are groups, with complex interests and longer-term priorities. Whatever “responsibilities” they have to certain players, fans or to a city often break at the stone of cold logic. It’s not pretty, but trading Jaylen Brown for a pittance may still have been the best, or only, path forward. This is not the Luka trade, which had no bidding war. This trade was the result of the bidding war, and probably reflected his actual market value.

In the end, Brown’s contract may just be too expensive. Paying for past performance is the recipe for NBA disaster, especially in the most restrictive financial ecosystem the league has ever had. It is a bold statement, one I’m not necessarily sure I would make myself, but if Boston had truly decided that Brown was blocking their ability to build a winning team, trading him for the best offer they had, however insultingly low, makes rational sense. 

Goodbye, Tobias Harris. You will certainly be missed. While Jalen Duren’s restricted free agency has sucked up most of the oxygen this offseason, and the rumor mill was stuffed full of potential trades for star players that are unlikely to come to fruition, when I have talked to people who really know the team well, the biggest topic of conversation has been Tobias.

Harris is a former Piston for the second time after agreeing to a two-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs. The writing was already on the wall earlier Wednesday when it was reported that the Pistons signed Harris’ replacement after agreeing to terms with free agent John Collins.

If you want to understand how important Harris has been in his second tenure with the Detroit Pistons, just look at the comments about him from Pistons fans and compare that to the vitriol directed his way from the fans of his previous team, the Philadelphia 76ers.

Yeah thats funny. Tobias Harris had all the chances in the world and came up small every single time under 3 different coaches. Its totally the fans fault tho.

— BYU Philly Sports (@BYUPhillySports) July 9, 2024

Tobias sucks

Worst player I’ve seen

— Conor Daly (@conordaly23) May 27, 2024

Non-Sixers fans will never understand how bad Tobias was they think we “scapegoated” him when he’s legitimately one of the worst players i’ve ever seen. he was SO BAD in that Raptors series and yet again people think we lost because of Embiid. https://t.co/8mDhr8SLbb

— BLXDE 🇮🇶🇮🇷🇺🇸🇲🇽🇪🇸🇧🇷 (@SW1TCHBLXDE) May 17, 2024

That was just a quick search. I can tell you from personal experience, the vitriol of Sixers fans that sought me out just so they could vent their frustrations about Harris, even after he’d left the team, was intense.

Compare that to how Pistons fans are reacting to Harris’ departure — a mix of real sadness and immense respect. I know I feel it.

It’s not just that Harris played well for Detroit during the last two seasons here; it is because Pistons fans always knew what Harris was, and more importantly, what he wasn’t. So did Harris. There were no outsized expectations. The contract was still big — the ridicule of a bad team like Detroit giving Harris more than $25 million a season was everywhere. Critics saw a washed player getting a bag from a desperate team. But he wasn’t washed, and the money was right even if it was a sizeable payday.

But it wasn’t $180 million big. It wasn’t star player big. It was the contract given to an iron man, a working professional, and someone who can be counted on game-in and game-out to give what they can.

The Pistons’ offense catered to his preference for a mix of catch-and-shoot opportunities and workmanlike backdown isos in the post. He was never asked to breakdown his defender or score 25-plus a night. He was asked to steady a ship that was only used to rocky seas and to be available when called upon.

Detroit had the big men and wings that meant Harris didn’t need to grab 10 boards, and they had a balanced offensive system that meant his 13 points per game were just fine.

He wasn’t here to do more than that. He was here to be the professional in the locker room. To show a young team what preparation and keeping your body right looked like in practice. He was “Unc” not because he was in his mid-30s surrounded by a rotation was mostly a decade younger.

It was because he was wise.

That is what Detroit is going to miss most. (That and a player who could reliably get his own shot with the shot clock running down).

As sad as it is, the good news is that what Harris helped build in Detroit will outlast him. I know many smart Pistons fans who are worried. Worried about the locker room. Worried about the professionalism.

But that foundation he helped lay will outlive his time in Detroit. The talent infusion over the past two years was vital. The ability to put Cade Cunningham in a modern basketball system was critical. However, I think the most important ingredient to the huge turnaround has been the culture of this team. You don’t go from 14 wins to 44 to 60 just because you finally have three-point shooters on your roster. You get there because you’ve instilled an unshakeable belief and focus on what it means to win.

Someone needed to show the Pistons the way, and that is all Tobias. Now the Pistons know. And it is on them to take the next step. There job is to always remember the lessons “Unc” taught them and carry them forward as the talent gets deeper and the playoff runs get longer.

Thanks, Tobias. The Pistons wouldn’t be the Pistons without you.

Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey didn’t take long to make a big splash, huh? On Wednesday, he agreed to trade Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks to the Boston Celtics for Jaylen Brown, according to multiple reports.

That blockbuster deal explains why the Sixers weren’t willing to top the two-year, roughly $17 million deal that Kelly Oubre Jr. agreed to with the Indiana Pacers.

The Sixers hard-capped themselves at the $209 million first apron by spending a portion of their non-taxpayer mid-level exception on Dean Wade on Tuesday night. That means their payroll cannot exceed that threshold from now through June 30, 2027.

After adding Ariel Hukporti on a reported one-year, $3.4 million deal and flipping George for Brown, here’s a rough estimate as to where the Sixers stand financially.

Player	2026-27 salary
Joel Embiid	$57,985,752
Jaylen Brown	$57,078,728
Tyrese Maxey	$40,770,520
VJ Edgecombe	$11,663,880
Dean Wade	$9,069,767
Labaron Philon Jr.	$3,597,840
Dominick Barlow	$3,415,000
Ariel Hukporti	$3,400,000
Jabari Walker	$2,584,539
Dalen Terry	$2,584,539
Justin Edwards	$2,411,090
Adem Bona	$2,296,271
Johni Broome	$2,150,917
TOTAL	$199,008,843
SALARY CAP	$164,961,000
CAP ROOM	-$34,047,843
LUXURY TAX	$200,428,000
TAX ROOM	$1,419,157
1ST APRON	$209,015,000
1ST APRON ROOM	$10,006,157
2ND APRON	$221,686,000
2ND APRON ROOM	$22,677,157

Agent inflation is common at this time of year, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Wade and/or Hukporti’s final contract terms come in slightly below what’s been reported. But if the reported terms are correct, the Sixers are now roughly $1.4 million below the $200.4 million luxury-tax threshold and $10 million below the first apron.

That cap picture is still fairly fluid, though. Dalen Terry’s $2.6 million contract is fully non-guaranteed until Jan. 10, and given the hard-cap issues that the Sixers could run into, it wouldn’t be surprising if they waive him. They could bring him back on a minimum contract and save $135,000.

Adem Bona’s $2.3 million contract is also non-guaranteed until July 7, although there’s no financial incentive for the Sixers to waive him. His salary is about $150,000 less than a standard veteran-minimum deal, so it would behoove the Sixers financially to keep him around this year.

Jabari Walker is the wild card. Like Terry, he’s set to earn $2.6 million this season. Only $250,000 of his contract is guaranteed through Jan. 10, but waiving him and signing a player to a minimum contract in his place would cost about $115,000 more than just keeping him around.

All of that might sound relatively inconsequential when we’re talking about a $200-plus million budget, but teams have gotten aggressive about pushing boundaries with their hard caps. The reigning champion New York Knicks finished less than $240,000 below their second-apron hard cap this past season, while the Los Angeles Lakers were less than $620,000 below their first-apron hard cap. In 2024-25, the Knicks finished exactly $53,349 below their second-apron hard cap.

It’s unclear whether the Sixers signed Hukporti using a portion of their non-taxpayer MLE or the $5.5 million bi-annual exception. Either way, they should have enough space under the first apron to spend the rest of the non-tax MLE and the bi-annual exception to fill out the rest of their roster.

They could also choose to leave one roster spot open heading into the season as an homage to former team president Daryl Morey as a way to save a few bucks. Veteran-minimum contracts begin to prorate downward on a daily basis once the regular season begins, so they could look to sign someone midseason and save more than $1 million that way.

If anything, the fact that the Sixers pulled this move off in total silence bodes well for the Gansey era.

We’ll see what else he has up his sleeve—would LeBron be interested in a farewell tour in the City of Brotherly Love?—but if nothing else, Gansey still has some tools to work with as he looks to round out the rest of this roster.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball Reference. All salary information via Spotrac and salary-cap information via RealGM.

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The Knicks already took their first steps toward repeating the success of their 2026 championship, locking up their bench backcourt to new deals. Unfortunately, they lost a key ingredient to their run as well, with Mitchell Robinson heading to Boston for three years and $47.4 million.

This was a contract value the front office couldn’t match without going into the second apron, a hard line for this offseason. 

With Robinson gone, the Knicks need to fill the hole left at their center position — here are some ways they can do it:

Kevon Looney

Looney is an unrestricted free agent after playing only 21 games for New Orleans last season. He has championship mettle from his 10 years in Golden State, including time spent under Knicks head coach Mike Brown.

He’s a bit undersized at 6-foot-9 and is now 30 years old, but is a smart defender and offensive rebounder who sets good screens and can make a couple plays in the halfcourt offense. He won’t wholly replace Robinson -- no bench big can -- but he’d be a solid veteran pickup who can easily slide to third string if a better option rises up.

Nick Richards

Richards is a free agent who’s closer to the Robinson mold at 6-foot-11 and sporting strong athleticism and rim-running. He’s only 28 and is a New York local who averaged 9.4 points and 7.6 rebounds on 52.3 percent shooting from the field in his last 20 games with Chicago last season.

The Bulls were his third team in two seasons after the Hornets and Suns both traded him. That's not a shining endorsement, but the right structure could help him find his footing. He’s been linked to the Knicks in the past so it wouldn’t be surprising if they came back around to seal the deal this time. 

Andre Drummond

Drummond is a veteran of 14 seasons, spending his last two in Philadelphia having to play almost 20 minutes per game as Joel Embiid’s backup and stand-in. He would be comfortable in a potential role in New York behind Karl-Anthony Towns and bring high-level offensive rebounding, plus a newly developed three-point shot to the table. 

His defense isn’t great and he’ll be 33 before the start of next season, but Drummond combined with one of the names above or below could help strengthen New York's frontcourt depth. 

Moussa Diabate

This will depend on Charlotte and New York’s appetite for a trade, but a salary match of Miles McBride or a couple of the Knicks prospects could net them a young promising big via the trade market. The Hornets may play ball given they also employ Ryan Kalkbrenner, Naz Reid and newly drafted Hannes Steinbach. 

New York would net a freakish athlete at just 24 years old who averaged 7.9 points and 8.7 rebounds on 63.1 percent shooting in 73 games and 47 starts last season. They’d have to pay him after this season, which could be a risk, but if possible this is their highest upside means of filling the role. 

Drew Eubanks

Not the hottest name, Eubanks has spent the last five seasons on six different squads, culminating in a quiet season in Sacramento. He’s not the strongest rebounder but can defend and finish nicely, bringing toughness to the frontline. 

Eubanks hasn’t been brought up as much as these other names, but could be as effective if not more in making up for some of Robinson’s lost production. 

Following a playoff performance that, it is fair to say, was pretty disappointing after finishing atop the Eastern Conference in the regular season, the Detroit Pistons clearly set out this offseason to rectify the main issue that prevented them from thriving in the playoffs: half-court offence (and lack of shooting in general). Put simply, they needed another guard who can get buckets at a high level to take some weight off Cade Cunningham.

Per reporting from a range of credible insiders, the Pistons pursued Austin Reaves as their top priority in free agency, who re-signed in LA on a max deal. They then turned their attention to Coby White, who swiftly re-upped on a deal with the Hornets following the LaMelo Ball blockbuster trade to Minnesota. Detroit was also rumoured to be interested in Norman Powell, who just inked a deal with the Bulls. See where I’m going with this?

As these names who can credibly help the Pistons continue to decrease, Tyler Herro’s value as a trade chip for the Bucks increases. You know, supply and demand. It’s worth noting that Detroit has remained interested in Herro since the Bucks acquired him, per reports, but, for a range of reasons, I could see why he wouldn’t have been their first priority. It’s not as if Herro is some sad consolation prize, though; I mean, he’s an All-Star! Say what you want about his defensive shortcomings or availability issues, but you can’t deny that he fits that team like a glove.

Herro commands attention all over the court. His gravity as a shooter—both off the catch and off the dribble—means primary defenders must guard him closely, and secondary defenders must be be right there once the primary gets beaten. Don’t get me wrong, he’s no Dame or Steph in terms of gravity, but he’s got the ability to hurt you in similar ways. Conceptually, the tandem of Herro and Cunningham playing off each other seems as if it would work brilliantly, while both can command units when the other is on the bench.

And then you get to the other end, where the fit makes even more sense. The main issue Miami had with Herro was that they felt they couldn’t play him alongside another poor defender, which limited lineup flexibility. But in Motown, Herro would be insulated by uber-talented defenders in Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren (who I am assuming ends up back on the team). Cade is not some plus defender, but he’s passable and has size. John Collins, whom they just signed, is solid on that end too.

As for why Milwaukee wouldn’t keep Herro, the main issue is that he feels like the wrong player to invest in at this point in their journey. If he were 22 years old, maybe, but at 26, is he really the guy you want to spearhead your rebuild and pay a massive contract after this season? To me, he feels much more like a finishing piece to add to a team that needs what he can provide than he does a cornerstone for a franchise in the opening years of a rebuild. That said, it’s not like I’d throw a fit if Jon Horst wasn’t happy with the offers and wanted to keep a hometown guy who can sell tickets.

The fit is good in Detroit, and I think Trajan Langdon knows it. Now they just have to come and get him.

I’m going to preface this with the following:

There’s a good chance that you are a Knicks fan reading this. A good portion will naturally see this and immediately go to the comments and say how much you don’t want this to happen. That is fine. I am not fully advocating for it either.

Weighing the pros and cons of LeBron James as a Knick in 2026 is a legitimate thought exercise that we’d be able to do if it was something that felt near-inevitable, rather than a fun thought.

So consider this a pitch, rather, to the 41-year-old future Hall of Famer on why he should want to be here. Whether the front office wants him or not is a story for another time.

So, Mr. James, if anyone in your circle just happened to see this article, let me state our case.

The video above is from well-known unlicensed sports investigator Pablo Torre, who’s found a lot of interesting stuff in and around the NBA over the past few years.

There’s been funny stuff, like what you see above with the unearthed 2010 pitch to a much younger LeBron that was ultimately regarded as historically bad (thanks, Jim). There’s also been super serious stuff, like the Clippers’ Aspiration scandal and Dolan’s weird surveillance thing to keep people he doesn’t like out of MSG.

However you feel about Torre, who also threatened to look into Jalen Brunson’s pay cut last year before finding absolutely nothing, he gave us an absolute gem with that video being finally revealed. The centerpiece to the failed pursuit of one of the greatest players ever was able to be seen.

You know, I kinda get why he saw that and went to Miami.

Nevertheless, I’ll start the pitch here. Consider what you saw in that clip.

There’s so much here that shows the world of differences between the Knicks of then and the Knicks of now.

They relied on star power, past glory, and the allure of New York City to pitch him. They had all sorts of guys who would go on to be super problematic try to pitch him. Hell, they played a damn Jay-Z song at the beginning when he just got done pitching LeBron to join the Nets that same week.

It didn’t feel personalized, they even sent carbon copies to his buddies Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, acting like they weren’t all going to say “Did you seriously get the exact same pitch that I did?”

All reports indicate that, with or without that video, the 2010 pitch was a disaster. Some of those reports, though, say that New York was actually an appealing place for LeBron, but the pitch and direction were so disastrously bad that he walked out and never came back.

Well, 16 years later, the only person in the entire organization who’s still here is… well, Dolan. But he’s mostly not involved with basketball operations, only getting involved when he says how much he’ll pay to keep a contender toge- moving along.

In 2010, the Knicks were a mess. They hadn’t won 40 games in a season since 2001. They were perennial bottom-feeders run by buffoons who gave bloated deals to Jerome James and traded their future for Eddy Curry. The fact that a good pitch with a promising vision could’ve been enough for a guy who, at the time, had never had a good supporting cast in his life is insane.

But now, as he nears the end of his career, the vision is clear. The Knicks are the reigning champions, regardless of what anyone wants to say about their players, what they won analytically, or whatever Wemby thinks about how the NBA Finals went.

For a guy who cares so much about his legacy, he will almost certainly be looking for a place where he can win his fifth championship before he rides off into the sunset. Well, going to a team returning all but one key piece of the most dominant playoff run in playoff history would be a good way to do that.

You know who LeBron’s first agent was? Leon Rose. When they split in 2012, it was with no ill will, just a separation of ways due to his good friend, Rich Paul, founding Klutch Sports. We don’t know if LeBron is still on good terms with his former agent 14 years later, but considering he’s the one who took him through the first Decision, I’m sure there are no issues.

He’d also be entering a situation with shockingly little pressure on him, if you can believe it. The biggest reason that any star might not have wanted to join the Knicks during the dark years was the victim complex that the franchise had become.

They needed someone to save them, but while you could be the knight in shining armor, you could also be the latest victim of the pit of alligators known as New York media pressure. Why do you think KD and Kyrie decided to go to the B-team across town that would never get as much coverage as whatever went on in Manhattan?

With the championship won and the need for a savior completely off the table, that victim complex is gone. If LeBron wants, he can hitch a ride to a very successful team as a complementary piece, rather than the knight in shining armor to save a destitute franchise.

Let’s talk roster construction.

The Knicks are operating under some very tight financial circumstances, so I would think only a veteran minimum is on the table, but that shouldn’t be an issue for a billionaire. If he wanted maximum money, he would’ve accepted his player option and requested a trade.

The Knicks, as constructed, are pretty deep everywhere but the center position. Adding LeBron into the mix would add yet another tool in Mike Brown’s toolbox.

At age 41, whatever team LeBron goes to will know he cannot be relied on for 82 games of high-end performance. It’s not 2018 (or 2012, or 2008, etc) anymore. This means that the deeper a team is, the easier it can stomach his bouts with Father Time creeping in and keeping him sidelined with whatever ailment he has.

The currently constructed Knicks are co-favorites to come out of the East, even without adding LeBron. With him? They’d be able to move Josh Hart to the bench and have ultimate flexibility at as many as four positions. Sporadic injuries wouldn’t hurt the rest of the team nearly as much.

When you want to go to a team to win a championship, you want to go somewhere that won’t collapse with one injury. While the Knicks are probably in that boat with Jalen Brunson and probably Karl-Anthony Towns, they’re well-equipped for absences for… anyone else.

Lastly, I want to pitch the personal aspect. It’s about righting wrongs, legacy, and personal objectives.

If Bill Simmons and multiple others are to be believed, LeBron wanted to play in New York when he hit free agency. The Knicks were just so wildly incompetent that a guy who had never been surrounded by a roster even capable of winning a title couldn’t see any path to winning one here.

In the years since, all he’s done is wax poetic about New York as a basketball city and the World’s Most Famous Arena. In 2018, when he faced his good pal Wade for the final time at Staples Center, he said that this game could’ve only happened “here or the Garden”.

He’s always admired the market, even if fate had never taken him to the bright lights of New York City. In another life, the Knicks could’ve been competently run, and he could’ve been the one to end the title drought as the savior everyone was begging for.

But now, as he reaches the end of his incredible career, he’s in a perfect spot to ride into the sunset playing for one of the league’s most iconic franchises, in the most famous arena in the world, and completing a dream he’s seemed to have for a long time now, all without the pressure of being the “savior” and being able to just be a complimentary piece on the reigning NBA champions.

The ball’s in your court, King. Follow your heart.

I’m not going to even try to re-litigate the particulars of this trade (yet). There are other posts on this blog and all over the internet explaining just how bad a trade the Boston Celtics made yesterday. Until we get the silver bullet “now they tell us” reasons for what happened, we’re just not going to know.

What I’m more concerned for is each of you. The real, diehard, bleeding green forever fans of this team. The Jaylen Brown trade immediately goes down as one of the worst I can think of, even across sports. I’m not as big a fan of the Red Sox as I used to be, and part of the reason I stopped caring was the Mookie Betts trade. This deal has that kind of impact potential.

I’ll speak for myself first. I’ve been walking around in stunned silence for so long that my wife is concerned about me. Internally I’m ping ponging through the stages of grief, mostly bouncing between anger and sadness. I haven’t started sobbing “Minnie Driver in Good Will Hunting” style, but I’m not ruling it out. I’ve even started questioning myself and my ability to understand basketball. Maybe I’m really just dumb and Jaylen Brown isn’t as good as I think he is. Clearly the market wasn’t what I thought it was, so at a minimum I misjudged that.

Or perhaps I’m way too invested in a silly kids game played by millionaires who are paid by billionaires using our money. That’s been true for decades and I don’t really see it changing. But enough about me.

Every one of you is unique and interacts with sports and the Celtics differently. You are all going to process this in your own way. Anger, sadness, confusion, denial, resignation, and a myriad of other emotions are expected. Some will say that this is all overreacting, and I understand the perspective, but I disagree. I would venture to guess that most of the people reading this post have invested time, money, passion, and love into this team. So witnessing a trade like this one for as little as they got back is traumatic. Not nearly on the scale of losing a loved one, but there can be minor echoes of that sort of feeling.

So I want this blog to be a safe place to work through all those emotions. That means if you are someone who copes by lashing out at people, please, please resist the urge. There are a lot of fragile human beings searching for answers, so try to follow my golden rule on here: Respect others by treating them the way you would like to be treated. I generally try to go the other way. Reach out to people that are struggling with this. Help them through their own emotions. You’ll find a funny thing happen when you do that. It becomes cathartic to you to help someone else and you actually end up helping yourself as well. Give it a shot.

We’ll get back to the basketball stuff soon enough. Just try to be excellent to one another. God bless.

The Los Angeles Lakers are all-in on chasing the NBA championship around Luka Doncic for the next two years. The Lakers went on a wild free agent spending spree on Wednesday to sign Walker Kessler, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes, and Collin Sexton. There’s still plenty of time left in the offseason, but it feels like the Lakers’ roster is 99 percent complete.

Trading for Kessler was the Lakers’ big splash, and it will go down as one of the boldest moves of the NBA summer. Top executive Rob Pelinka gave up the team’s unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033, as well as pick swaps in 2028 and 2030, to acquire a strong defensive center with a long injury history. This will be the biggest trade of the Doncic era for Los Angeles: the Lakers now have no tradable first-round picks over the next seven years and have committed $475 million to Dončić, Austin Reaves, and Kessler.

The Lakers can talk themselves into having a championship ceiling now with the league having eight unique champions over the last eight seasons. The biggest thing any team needs to win a championship is a top-5 player in the world. The Lakers have one in Doncic, and that gives them a chance to raise another banner if everything goes right for them, and several things go wrong for their top adversaries.

Kessler holds the Lakers’ championship hopes on his shoulders. You know what you’re getting from Luka if he stays healthy: best-in-class scoring and playmaking; an offensive engine unlike anything else in the league. Reaves is a really good secondary scorer who can replicate the dribble-drive creation and outside shooting that Kyrie Irving once provided next to Luka on the Dallas Mavericks’ 2024 NBA Finals run. Doncic and Reaves are both weak defenders to put it mildly, and this team doesn’t have anyone who can replicate the wing defense that helped power the Knicks to a 2026 championship. That means the defense is all on Kessler, an elite rim protector and rebounder who suddenly has to deliver on 100 percent of his promise for the Lakers to accomplish anything meaningful.

NBA history is defined by dynasties, but there’s two big reasons why different teams keep winning the championship in this era. The first one is injuries: more pace and more space has led to added pressure on the players’ bodies, and that often causes them to break down. The Thunder might have repeated as champions if Jalen Williams and Ajay Mitchell stayed healthy. The Bucks might have gone back-to-back in 2021 and 2022 if Khris Middleton’s body didn’t falter. We’ll never know. The next part is the structure of the NBA’s current CBA. It’s harder to pay three superstars, because it kills your pathways to depth. The Lakers are now using one of the few three-star models in the league.

I’m not going to say the Lakers are automatically drawing dead next season for those reasons. Other teams could have injuries. So far, there are only three teams I would definitively rank ahead of the Lakers going into the 2026-2027 season right now.

• Oklahoma City Thunder
• San Antonio Spurs
• New York Knicks

That’s the NBA’s Tier 1 of championship contenders. To me, the Lakers are a Tier 2 title contender, which looks something like this:

• Los Angeles Lakers
• Minnesota Timberwolves
• Philadelphia 76ers
• Toronto Raptors

I would elevate the Lakers above the Denver Nuggets and Houston Rockets as currently constructed. We’ll see if either of those teams makes a significant move, or if they mostly just run it back next year. The Sixers just joined Tier 2 themselves on Wednesday pulling off a shocking buy-low trade for Jaylen Brown.

The wildcards are the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers. One of them is probably getting LeBron James. What else are they doing? If the Warriors land James and Anthony Davis, I’d rank them ahead of the Lakers despite that roster being old as hell. I like the Warriors’ outlook without Davis, too, especially if Kristaps Porzingis can somehow stay healthy (again, it’s always injuries). The Cavs with LeBron look a half-step below the Lakers to me unless they do something else that moves the needle.

The offseason is long. Training camps don’t open until late September, and the season doesn’t start until late Oct. We’ve seen major deals go down on the brink of training camp the last few years, like the Knicks acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns and the Bucks trading for Damian Lillard. It could happen again.

For now, the Lakers are a Tier 2 championship contender in my mind with a tangible championship ceiling. I’d rank them no higher than No. 4 and no longer than No. 7 in the preseason power rankings right now. The reason I still crushed the Lakers in my Kessler trade grades is because I don’t really believe in their chance to reach their ceiling. I think there’s some terrifying downside here for LA if that happens. I do still believe in LA’s ceiling in a best case scenario, though

If the Lakers fall short of their ceiling the next two years? Well, Luka Doncic can be a free agent in 2028. Maybe a reunion in Dallas with Cooper Flagg is coming? The NBA always keeps you on your toes. The pressure is on now to make these moves count for the Lakers. It will be thrilling to watch them try.

It’s July now, which means we’re officially in a new NBA year. The 2026-27 season is on the horizon, and maybe this is the year I make some basketball resolutions. Think New Year’s resolutions, except they’re about being a better fan, a better writer, and somebody who absorbs the sport a little differently. I’ll do my best to adjust my attitude on a few things. One of those things? The NBA Cup.

I’ve had a hard time embracing it, especially after what happened last season. Sure, the Suns made the NBA Cup for the second time in three years, and their reward was a date with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder beat them by 50. As a bonus, they also got matched up with the team that lost on the other side of the Western Conference NBA Cup bracket, which happened to be the Lakers.

So, by playing well, they earned two games against superior opponents. What a prize. That’s fine, I guess. By the end of the season, though, I’m sure we’d all rather the Suns had a couple more wins in their pocket than an opportunity to be stress tested by elite teams in November. Two more wins and the Suns would’ve finished 49-33 and secured the sixth seed. The disease of what if, amiright?

But again, I’m going to try to put all of that aside. I’m going to try to embrace the NBA Cup, the corporate sponsorships, and those funky-looking courts.

Why do I bring all of this up now? Because the NBA Cup groups have been announced. Oh joy! Fantastic!!! We now know where the Phoenix Suns landed and who they’ll be playing. They’ve been assigned to West Group A alongside the Nuggets, Rockets, Mavericks, and Jazz.

The groups are set for the Emirates NBA Cup 2026!

All 30 NBA teams were randomly drawn into groups of five within their conference based on win-loss records from the 2025-26 regular season.

The groups are available below. pic.twitter.com/bZHTlRGs29

— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) July 1, 2026

NBA Cup group play begins on October 30 and runs through November 27. Every team will play the other teams in its group once, and the winner of each group, along with one wildcard team from each conference, will advance to the eight-team, single-elimination knockout round.

One thing is different this year. The quarterfinals and finals are getting a new home. After three years in Las Vegas, they’ll be played at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Shout out to Shams for tweeting it out right after free agency opened on Tuesday. While we’re all sitting around waiting for free agent news, he’s telling us NBA Cup news. (smile John…nod…don’t get upset…)

League news: The NBA will hold the NBA Cup championship game at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse on Dec. 11 next season, sources tell ESPN.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2026

The NBA Cup has become something of a proving ground in recent years. Teams that have reached the finals have gone on to find success later in the season. Look at last year. The New York Knicks beat the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup Final, then did it again in the NBA Finals.

Maybe that’s the angle I’ll take. Maybe you want to make the NBA Cup because it’s a preview of what’s to come later in the season! I’m trying…I’m trying.

The wait for LeBron James rolls on as NBA free agency continues today and the remainder of the NBA’s free agents search for their next team on Thursday, July 2.

James is weighing his options, with interest from at least a dozen teams, according to his agent. The NBA's all-time leading scorer and four-time MVP winner announced he would not return to the Los Angeles Lakers and play elsewhere earlier this week.

The biggest moves so far have been trades. Jaylen Brown was the latest NBA star to be dealt when the Boston Celtics traded him to the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday in a package featuring Paul George and draft picks. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Ja Morant and Walker Kessler are among the notable players to switch teams in recent days.

But there are still a few difference makers remaining on the third day since the NBA's free agency negotiating period began, and plenty of intriguing possibilities to monitor during an offseason that's already seen its share of drama.

USA TODAY Sports is tracking all of the latest news, signings, trades and rumors with NBA free agency in full gear. Here's what's happening around the league at this moment:

Donovan Mitchell blasts Colin Cowherd's Jaylen Brown comments

The Jaylen Brown trade to the Philadelphia 76ers has sparked polarizing emotions and harsh criticism, particularly directed towards either the Boston Celtics or Brown. FOX Sports personality Colin Cowherd weighed in by citing an anonymous NBA executive and scout, saying they told him Brown has "a disease. He suddenly thinks he's the smartest guy in every room he's in."

As Cowherd's comments began to be shared widely on social media on Thursday, July 2, Cleveland Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell came to the defense of Brown and made clear he didn't like what was being insinuated.

Critique basketball all you want… but disease is insane… we gotta stop letting people just say whatever… cmon man! https://t.co/kZvqMGBYib

— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) July 2, 2026

Tim Hardaway Jr. can't wear dad's Miami Heat retired jersey

Tim Hardaway Jr. agreed to a one-year deal with the Miami Heat earlier this week, but don't expect him to wear the No. 10 he has used much of his career.

Tim Hardaway Sr.'s No. 10 is retired in Miami and he said Wednesday his son can't have it even if he wants it.

"My legacy is my legacy, and he's doing it his way. Even though he likes to wear 10, he loves to wear 10, but that is not coming down from the rafters," Tim Hardaway Sr. said in an interview with WQAM radio in Miami.

The Heat retired Hardaway's No. 10 in 2009. He was a three-time all-NBA selection during his six seasons with the franchise (1996-2001). Hardaway Jr. previously didn't wear No. 10 with the Detroit Pistons and New York Knicks because the number is retired for those teams as well.

Anfernee Simons considering new team in NBA free agency

Anfernee Simons will be playing for his fourth team since the end of the 2024-25 NBA season when he makes a free agency decision soon, and his options are beginning to come into focus.

Simons is being pursued by the Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat, with the Dallas Mavericks emerging Thursday as a new suitor, according to NBA reporters Marc Stein and Jake Fischer. Simons spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers, where he signed a 4-year, $100-million contract extension.

He began last season with the Boston Celtics before a trade deadline deal to the Chicago Bulls, though he appeared in just six games for Chicago. Simons averaged 14.3 points and shot better than 38% from 3-point range over 55 games with the Celtics and Bulls.

Lakers showing interest in Jonathan Kuminga

The Lakers burst into NBA free agency with a few rapid-fire signings in the aftermath of the LeBron James' decision to play elsewhere, and they might have another move left. The Lakers are interested in Jonathan Kuminga, according to multiplereports, as an athletic wing to play alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.

Kuminga is an unrestricted free agent after the Atlanta Hawks elected to not pick up his team option for the 2026-27 season. He was dealt to the Hawks by the Golden State Warriors at last year's trade deadline. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season.

Celtics could still pursue Trey Murphy III

There's a lot of consternation in Boston today in the aftermath of the Celtics' decision to trade Jaylen Brown for Paul George and a couple future first-round picks. But if there's a silver lining to that angst, it's that there's also speculation the team might not be done making moves this offseason.

The Celtics have reached out to the New Orleans Pelicans about acquiring wing Trey Murphy III this offseason, according to a new report from Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix, and the two first-round picks Boston got from the 76ers gives its front office more assets to pull off a deal.

76ers interested in LeBron James after Jaylen Brown trade

The Philadelphia 76ers might not be done making splashy moves after acquiring Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics on Wednesday. The 76ers are among the teams that have reached out to express interest in LeBron James, according to a report from The Athletic.

Rich Paul, James' agent, indicated there were already 12 to 14 teams to contact him in regards to James after he announced he would not be playing for the Lakers next season. Teaming with Tyrese Maxey, Brown and Joel Embiid is suddenly another intriguing option for James.

Who are top remaining NBA free agents?

Jalen Duren, center

The 22-year-old center remains one of the top free agents available. Duren's options might be limited as a restricted free agent after other centers went off the market, including Walker Kessler (Lakers) and Mitchell Robinson (Celtics).

Peyton Watson, wing

Watson continued to improve with each season he spent with the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 14.6 points and 4.9 rebounds in 54 games played this past season. He is a restricted free agent.

Rui Hachimura, forward

Hachimura has been a solid player for the Lakers in recent years. He's been linked to the Detroit Pistons and San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 11.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 68 games played last year. He also finished with a 44.3 percentage from the 3-point line.

Marvin Bagley to join Denver Nuggets

Marvin Bagley III agreed to a one-year deal with the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Bagley played with both the Washington Wizards and the Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 10.5 points and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games played. He was a part of a 3-team trade in February.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA free agency LIVE updates: LeBron rumors, Jaylen Brown trade fallout

Jaylen Brown helped Celtics get back to championship level originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Jaylen Brown helped the Boston Celtics return to a championship pedigree, and because of that, he deserves to be remembered as a franchise icon forever.

Brown’s tenure with the Celtics ended Wednesday when he was reportedly traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.

This trade closes the book on a 10-year journey for Brown in Boston — one that included plenty of ups and downs, but most importantly resulted in the Celtics securing Banner 18 in 2024.

Getting to that point where Brown was holding the Larry O’Brien Trophy wasn’t easy, though.

Taking a chance

The Celtics deserve a lot of credit for selecting Brown with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. It was one of several lottery picks Boston ended up getting from the Brooklyn Nets in the famous Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade from 2013. And he wasn’t the consensus third-best player in that draft. Many mock drafts had Jamal Murray or Kris Dunn going to the Celtics. Brown went as low as No. 7 or 8 in some mock drafts.

But former C’s president of basketball operations Danny Ainge clearly saw a special talent in Brown, who had the physical prowess, basketball IQ, and raw talent to be an impact player early in his career.

The addition of Brown was not universally praised among fans. There were a lot of rumors at the time about the C’s being interested in trading for star players such as Jimmy Butler or Paul George. So when a blockbuster trade didn’t materialize on draft night and the C’s instead drafted a kid from the University of California, some fans were disappointed. There were boos at the Celtics’ draft party at the Garden.

But it wouldn’t take too long for Celtics fans to start cheering for Brown and embracing him.

Early growing pains

Brown started 20 games as a rookie but played only 17.2 minutes per game that season. His all-around skill set was on display in his third ever game — a showdown against LeBron James and the Cavs on the road — in which he scored 19 points with five rebounds, two assists, one block and three steals.

Overall, Brown played well enough to earn a spot on the All-Rookie second team.

Brown really started to blossom in his second season. The roster around him was better after the C’s drafted Jayson Tatum and traded for Kyrie Irving. They also signed Gordon Hayward in free agency.

Hayward’s scary season-ending injury on Opening Night opened the door for Brown to play a larger role than anticipated in Year 2, and he capitalized on the opportunity. Brown averaged 14.5 points per game in 2017-18, which was more than double his output as a rookie. He also shot 39.5 percent from 3-point range. Brown was even better in the playoffs. Irving and Hayward were both sidelined in the postseason due to injuries, but led by Brown and Tatum, the C’s exceeded all expectations and advanced all the way to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Brown scored 30 points in a Game 2 win over the Bucks in the first round. He scored 24 points in a Game 5 clincher over the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. He also scored 23-plus points in four of the seven games against James and the Cavs in the conference finals. But the C’s ultimately came up short in an 87-79 Game 7 defeat at TD Garden.

There was a lot of optimism surrounding Brown and the entire Celtics team entering the 2018-19 season. Irving and Hayward were back healthy. Tatum and Brown had proven in the 2018 playoffs they were legit contributors. All the stars were aligning for a potential title run.

But the 2018-19 campaign was a major disappointment, for many reasons. The uncertainty over Irving’s future with the team and whether he’d re-sign was a huge story. The C’s didn’t meet expectations on the court, either. Brown started only 25 games after starting in all 70 of his appearances the year before. Many of his stats decreased, as did his playing time by about five minutes per game.

Reaching All-Star status

The 2019-20 season was a bounce-back for Brown. He averaged career highs of 20.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. His 3-point shooting also improved a lot. The C’s finished third in the East, and in the bubble playoffs in Orlando they advanced all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, where the Miami Heat won in six games.

Brown played even better in the 2020-21 season, raising his scoring average to a career-high 24.7 points and shooting just under 40 percent from 3-point range. He was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time. Unfortunately for Brown, a wrist injury prevented him from playing in the postseason, and the C’s were eliminated in the first round in five games by the Brooklyn Nets.

Adversity in the playoffs

After a couple trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics finally broke through and made it to the NBA Finals in 2022 after defeating the Miami Heat on the road in Game 7. Brown scored 24 points with six rebounds and six assists in that Game 7, and he scored 20-plus points in six of the seven games in the conference finals, including a 40-point outburst in Game 3.

The 2022 NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors started off with a bang. The Celtics trailed by double digits in Game 1, but Brown helped lead a second-half comeback that resulted in a 120-108 victory. Brown scored 27 points in a Game 3 win in Boston, giving the C’s a 2-1 series lead.

But the more experienced Warriors won the next three games, including the Game 6 clincher at the Garden. Brown was one of the few C’s players who came to play in Game 6 with a team-leading 34 points.

The Finals loss was difficult, but the experienced gained was valuable, and expectations going into the 2022-23 season were enormous. Brown was again an All-Star in 2022-23 and, for the first time, was selected to an All-NBA team (second team) after averaging a career-high 26.6 points per game.

Brown did not play at his best in the 2023 conference finals against the Heat.

Miami shockingly took a 3-0 lead on the C’s, including a pair of victories in Boston to begin the series. Brown scored just 16 points in Game 2 and 12 in Game 3. The Celtics were able to force a Game 7 and give themselves a chance to become the first NBA team ever to win a series after trailing 0-3. Tatum sprained his ankle early in Game 7, and Brown was unable to pick up the slack as the Heat cruised to another East title. Brown shot 8-for-23 from the field and 1-for-9 on 3-pointers in Game 7, in addition to eight turnovers.

“We failed. I failed. We let the whole city down,” Brown said at his press conference after Game 7.

He later added: “My team turned to me to make plays and I came up short, I failed. It’s tough. I give credit to Miami, but just a terrible job.”

It was a crushing loss for Brown and the Celtics. But it ended up fueling them for a historic 2023-24 campaign.

Becoming a champion

The Celtics made bold roster changes going into the 2023-24 season. They traded away fan favorites Marcus Smart and Robert Williams III, and made deals to acquire veteran point guard Jrue Holiday and center Kristaps Porzingis.

The C’s were loaded, and they dominated all competition in one of the most impressive regular seasons in recent memory. Brown made a third consecutive All-Star team as Boston cruised to a league-best 64-18 record.

The 2024 playoffs were arguably the best stretch of Brown’s career with the Celtics. He was locked in from the start, and he scored 25-plus points in nine of Boston’s 19 games that spring.

Brown earned Eastern Conference Finals MVP after a sweep of the Indiana Pacers. His heroics in Game 1, including a game-tying 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, helped the C’s escape with an overtime victory.

He followed that up with a sensational 40-point performance in Game 2. Brown scored 29 points in the Game 4 clincher, and he made a couple huge defensive plays late in that matchup.

Brown played fantastic in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks.

After playing well in the first two games, Brown gave a signature performance in Game 3 to help the C’s take a commanding 3-0 series lead. He scored 30 points with eight rebounds and eight assists, including a bunch of clutch plays in the fourth quarter. None were more important than his jumper that gave Boston a 102-98 lead with 1:01 remaining.

Jaylen Brown knocks down the midrange to put Boston back up 4!

Under a minute to play in Game 3 on ABC pic.twitter.com/RqNqEzGYvr

— NBA (@NBA) June 13, 2024

“I think this team has trusted me, especially in this playoffs and those moments to just be who I am,” Brown told reporters at a press conference after Game 3.

“I felt like I’ve been able to just deliver just by being patient and being poised. Those opportunities have presented themselves, and I’ve been able to take advantage of them. But I give all my credit to my teammates for the trust they had in me to have the ball in my hands and to be able to make those plays.”

Brown scored 21 points with eight rebounds and six assists as the Celtics eliminated the Mavericks in Game 5 for the franchise’s record-breaking 18th championship. He was voted the winner of the Bill Russell NBA Finals MVP Trophy. Not only did Brown hit a bunch of important shots, he played great defense on Dallas superstar Luka Doncic throughout the series.

An emotional Brown, with the Finals MVP trophy on the table to his left, explained in his postgame press conference how all of the past failures helped both him and the team finally accomplish the ultimate goal.

“I think we learned. I think we learned from all of our mistakes. All of our adversity has made us stronger, made us tougher,” Brown said. “All season you could see it. We started from the jump. We made all the sacrifices. We played both ends of the ball at a high level. We didn’t skip any steps. And this was the result.

“But all of those experiences, like, led to here. All of moments where we came up short, we felt like we let the city down, let ourselves down, all of that compiled is how we get to this moment. And it makes it feel even that much better that we had to go through all the journey, the heartbreak, the embarrassment, the loss, to get to the mountaintop. It’s great. And shout out to all the supporters and the city of Boston.”

An MVP-caliber season

Tatum’s Achilles injury in the 2025 Eastern Conference semifinals resulted in Brown being the No. 1 option on the Celtics during the 2025-26 campaign, and he took advantage of the opportunity.

Brown set career highs of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game. He was an All-Star starter for the first time, and he was voted to the All-NBA second team for the second time in his career. Brown was in the MVP conversation at times during the season and ended up finishing sixth in the voting.

He helped the Celtics exceed all expectations during the regular season as they finished with the second-best record in the East.

The first-round playoff exit to the Philadelphia 76ers was a difficult ending to the season, especially when you consider the C’s had a 3-1 series lead. Brown didn’t play his best in the series, but there were plenty of reasons why Boston failed to advance.

All-time numbers

Climbing the all-time leaderboards for a team like the Celtics that has so many Hall of Famers is no small feat.

Brown leaves the Celtics ranked in the top 10 in several notable statistical categories:

• Points scored: 10th
• Points per game: 8th
• Field goals per game: 9th
• 3-Point shots: 3rd
• Defensive rebounds: 8th

Brown also earned four All-Star appearances, a second team All-Rookie selection, two second team All-NBA appearances, an NBA Finals MVP and Eastern Conference MVP awards, and one championship during his Celtics career.

He is one of the best and most accomplished Celtics of the 21st century. His No. 7 deserves to be in the rafters at TD Garden someday. The impact he made on the franchise and the city in the last 10 years was immense, and it will be felt for a long time.

The Celtics took a shot on Brown in 2016 and it paid off tremendously.

Not the best day for links, as everybody was writing about Jaylen Brown and LeBron James. You’d been cool thinking those things should be separated by a good 10 years or so, but they’re not, somehow. Here are some.

• You have probably heard about this by now, but Mitchell Robinson is officially gone, and worse, he’s gone to Boston. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported the three-year, $47.4 million deal with the Celtics, ending his eight-year run in New York. Mitch posted a farewell on Instagram, thanked the Knicks and fans for the best years of his life, and got love back from Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and others. I hate the destination. I do not hate the man. Once a Knick, always a Knick, unless you do something truly unforgivable. This is not that, even if the jersey will hurt the eyes.
• The Knicks don’t have any big men rostered and still need to fill a few open roster spots. Meanwhile, Stefan Bondy reported they’re not close to signing Kevon Looney, but it could still happen.
• If you’re interested, which probably are more than the Knicks are (at least that’s how they are making it look like), the best FA centers still available are not what you call enticing. Remove Mamu, Bagley, and Hayes from that list, by the way.

Drafted here
Grew up here
Became a champion here
Thank you Mitchell Robinson pic.twitter.com/9ZmpaB5Dvz

— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) July 1, 2026

• Already touched on this in yesterday’s notes, but the New York Post discussed Mike Brown’s appearance on the Roommates Show, quoting him as revealing Dillon Jones as someone who played a real behind-the-scenes role during the Knicks’ championship run.

“Throughout the course of this run, I got help with the messaging from different people. I’m gonna tell you guys, you may know this or may not, Dillon [Jones] was fabulous.

“I spoke to Dillon often during this playoff run because he had just gone through it with Oklahoma City,” Brown added. “I said, ‘Hey, when you guys were in this position, what was [head coach] Mark [Daigneault] saying? What was [general manager] Sam Presti saying? What were you guys saying to each other? What do you think here?”

• Mike Brown also opened up about his two toughest moments of the year, naming both the discussions and decision to start the season with Josh Hart on the bench, and some early-season clashes with Karl-Anthony Towns. If you didn’t watch the show, go catch it in full now.
• The Celtics got robbed by the 76ers. Sister site CelticsBlog is already asking what Brad Stevens was thinking.
• Per Kevin O’Connor, LeBron James is in discussions to film a documentary (The Final Tango?) wherever he goes to play basketball next season. Full circus is coming!
• The New York Post’s Zach Braziller argued Cleveland, not New York, makes the most sense for LeBron… saying that move could be great for the Knicks in a different way.
• Josh Hart summed up the last couple of days nicely.
• Victor Oladipo is a free agent. Made you know about it.
• Page Six reported that Travis Kelce and his fiancée invited the Knicks’ starting lineup to their wedding after watching Game 4 of the Finals at Madison Square Garden.
• Won’t even hide the headline here cause it’s so good: “Tim Hardaway Sr. won’t let son wear No. 10 with Heat: ‘My legacy is my legacy.’”

How the hell do you acquire this build pic.twitter.com/fBYEqTqrEO

— kolek (@hoodikolek) July 1, 2026

You can follow Antonio on Twitter at @chapulana.

It’s not a surprise that Atlanta’s last three first-round picks, Asa Newell, Kingston Flemings, and Zuby Ejiofor will lead the summer league team into battle in two separate campaigns — Salt Lake City and Las Vegas.

But now the entire team has been finalized and announced as young Hawks look to make their first (or second) impression on fans:

Our Summer League roster is here! 👀 pic.twitter.com/09drkC8RCn

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) June 30, 2026

Guards RayJ Dennis and Keshon Gilbert join the team after playing on two-way contracts last season almost entirely with the College Park Skyhawks. Additionally, the summer teams see the return of forwards Jacob Toppin and Eli Ndiaye, two players previously on two-way contracts who both suffered 2025-26 season-ending injuries.

I already broke down the schedule here for more information on timing of games, and the Hawks provided a table of name pronunciations and other information:

With two competitions come two head coaches. From the Atlanta Hawks:

Hawks assistant coaches Antonio Lang and Sanjay Lumpkin will serve as Atlanta’s Summer League head coaches. Lang, who is entering his fourth season with Atlanta, will serve as the team’s head coach in Salt Lake City. This will be his second time leading a Hawks Summer League team, as he served as the team’s head coach in 2023. Lumpkin, also entering his fourth season with the Hawks, will serve as Atlanta’s head coach at the 2026 NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, his first stint at the helm of a Summer League team.

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Who are you most excited to see during the summer leagues games? Please let me know in the comments below.