Филадельфиа Севенти Сиксерс баг Пол Жорж болон драфтын эрхүүдийг Бостон Сэлтикс рүү илгээж, од тоглогч Жэйлен Брауныг эгнээндээ нэгтгэснээр Дорнод бүсийн өрсөлдөөнд хүчтэй өрсөлдөгч болон гарч ирлээ.
Филадельфиа Севенти Сиксерс өнөөдөр илүү бат бөх, хүчирхэг баг боллоо. Жоел Эмбийд болон Тайрис Макси нарын довтолгооны хослол дээр Жэйлен Браун нэмэгдсэнээр тус баг Дорнод бүсийн аваргын төлөөх өрсөлдөөнд жинхэнэ хүч түрэн орж ирж байна. Өмнө нь харилцаа хүйтэн байсан Жоел Эмбийд, Жэйлен Браун нар нэг багт нэгдсэн нь багаа аваргын төлөө тэмцэхэд хэрхэн нөлөөлөх нь олны анхаарлыг татаж байна.
Жэйлен Браун нь гурван түвшний довтолгооны чадвартай, NBA-ийн аварга бөгөөд финалын үнэ цэнтэй тоглогч билээ. Түүний ирсэн нь багийн довтолгооны боломжийг нэмэгдүүлж, Жоел Эмбийдэд улирлын турш биеийн хүчээ нөөх боломжийг олгож байна. Лхагва гарагт плэй-ин бүсийн баг мэт харагдаж байсан Филадельфиа Севенти Сиксерс одоо аваргын төлөө өрсөлдөхүйц бүрэлдэхүүнтэй боллоо.
Багийн ерөнхий менежер Майк Ганси болон удирдлагууд одоо ч бүрэлдэхүүнээ бүрэн гүйцэд болгох шаардлагатай байна. Чөлөөт агентын зах зээл дээрх нүүдлүүд үргэлжилж байгаа энэ үед Леброн Жэймсийг эгнээндээ нэгтгэх тухай яриа нь Филадельфиагийн хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийн хувьд мөрөөдөл болон хувираад байна.
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The Philadelphia 76ers became a better basketball team today.
They became a more durable team. They put a guardrail against Joel Embiid’s body steadily breaking down. And, in the process, they put themselves into the Eastern Conference arms race, one that seemed to be getting away from them as recently as lunchtime on Wednesday.
By trading for Jaylen Brown and sending Paul George and a basket full of picks to the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia became a legitimate threat. The 76ers ended last season with Tyrese Maxey as their offensive engine, and Embiid as another one, when he was able to remain upright. George was very good last season, and borderline sensational at times. But he was very good and borderline sensational… as a role player. As good as he was, his overall calculus had obviously changed as a basketball player. George, as of last season, was no longer a nightly star.
Jaylen Brown is still a star — a borderline superstar. He is someone capable of carrying a basketball team offensively. I thought so much of Brown last season, I voted him First Team All-NBA. I was also the only media member who voted him as high as No. 2 on the NBA’s Most Valuable Player ballot.
Memorable moments from Jaylen Brown’s 10 seasons in Boston
That’s what Philadelphia needs. Brown is durable. He’s a three-level scorer. He’s someone who has been an NBA Finals MVP and a champion. He’s also polarizing, thoughtful, well-spoken, outspoken, expensive and had apparently fallen so out of favor with Brad Stevens and the rest of Boston’s front office that he was traded for relative pennies on the dollar.
Obviously, this adds a layer to the Sixers-Celtics rivalry. It also adds intrigue around a partnership between Embiid and Brown. Two months ago, they were in the middle of TD Garden jawing at one another during a terrific Game 7 of a first-round series. They have never been the best of friends. At times, their relationship has been downright frosty. But they both have a chance at winning a championship on their terms. And that means a lot.
How those two mesh may go a long way in determining how the trade is remembered. Brown and Embiid will have to jell. Philadelphia’s championship ceiling depends on it.
If Sixers fans can be assured of one thing heading into next season, it’s that they are getting a version of Brown that will have a sizable chip on his shoulders. For the better part of the last two weeks, Brown has listened to the NBA community tell him he wasn’t valuable as a player, and that the numbers suggested Boston is better off without him on the floor. Brown, for his part, fired back at the critics on social media. And when his name was very publicly mentioned in the trade talks that eventually sent Giannis Antetokounmpo, there was no turning back. Brown had to be traded.
The shock is that Boston traded Brown. It’s that they traded him to their division rival. And the shock is that the cost was low enough for Philadelphia to make a deal without putting someone like dynamic guard VJ Edgecombe into it. And the shock is that the 76ers remained flexible enough in the opening days of free agency to make such a move. And now, these Sixers are a team that can seemingly stand in the middle of the ring and trade blows with anyone in the Eastern Conference.
Remember when the Toronto Raptors traded for Kawhi Leonard? That was a move that we could all argue changed the balance of power out East. Brown might have the chance to do something similar. Pairing him with Maxey, Philadelphia has two of the conference’s most dynamic players, while also giving Embiid a cushion to try and get his body right throughout the regular season. One of Brown’s greatest strengths has always been an innings eater in the regular season.
For years, the Sixers have had to get through the grind in any way possible. Now, they have the upside of being able to actually come away with good playoff seeding. Will it lead to a championship? That isn’t something that can be determined on the first day of July. But the outlook is undeniably brighter than it was a few hours earlier. The Sixers looked like a Play-In team early Wednesday afternoon. By Wednesday evening, they looked like possible contenders.
It also means they have a lot of work still to be done. Before the blockbuster trade, their free-agency haul consisted of signing Dean Wade from the Cleveland Cavaliers and backup center Ariel Hukporti from the New York Knicks. But they also lost Quentin Grimes and Kelly Oubre Jr. to the Los Angeles Lakers and Indiana Pacers, respectively. So, now, general manager Mike Gansey and the front office still have multiple roster spots to fill.
Or, maybe, and, just throwing this out there, the Philadelphia 76ers go after their Moby Dick: LeBron James.
Think about it. James is an unrestricted free agent. He wants to be in a place where he can compete for a championship. The 76ers suddenly have Brown, Embiid and Maxey. James could do a lot worse than linking up with the Sixers for a season. Maybe that’s a dream for those in Philly.
But, that’s what Brown has instantly done for the 76ers. He’s put Philadelphia in the position of being able to dream. A trade that seemingly matriculated from nowhere is now threatening to shift the balance of power in the Eastern Conference. And a city that has seen its basketball team come up short for decades can now imagine what’s been impossible since the early 1980’s.
Is it October yet?
