The Philadelphia 76ers have done the unthinkable, following their long-awaited defeat of the Boston Celtics in the NBA Playoffs by trading for one of their franchise cornerstones. They made the stunning move to acquire Jaylen Brown from the Celtics and instantly improved their title odds.
More importantly, the 76ers created a realistic path to being a contender both with and without Joel Embiid on the court.
Embiid is a dominant force who will likely find himself in the Hall of Fame one day. Unfortunately, injuries have been an unavoidable factor in his career up to this point in time. That's prevented the 76ers from realizing their full potential, as well as making it beyond the second round of the playoffs.
With a blockbuster trade for Brown, however, the 76ers finally have a superstar who has won a title—and a go-to wing scorer who can put the team on his back when all else fails.
BLOCKBUSTER: The Boston Celtics have agreed to trade Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/xNcNlIV2mh
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2026
With a trio of Brown, V.J. Edgecombe, and Tyrese Maxey, the 76ers now have the potential to boast the best perimeter in the NBA—and a strong enough core to contend with or without Embiid.
76ers finally have the pieces to contend with or without Joel Embiid
Brown, 29, is one of the best and most decorated players of his generation. He's a former NBA champion and Finals MVP, as well as a two-time All-NBA Second Team honoree and five-time All-Star. In 2025-26, he put together arguably the best individual season of his career thus far.
Brown finished the 2025-26 campaign with averages of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.0 steal, and 2.0 three-point field goals made per game on .477/.347/.795 shooting.
In addition to being a top-tier scorer who has won a championship, Brown is a skilled playmaker and a high-level defender. He's played lockdown roles for Celtics teams that had considerable depth, and alongside Edgecombe, Embiid, and Maxey, could return to that level in 2026-27.
If nothing else, the 76ers will now have three different players who have averaged at least 28.0 points per game in a single season—and even without Embiid, they'd still have two in Brown and Maxey.
The need to be able to win without Embiid is founded in the fact that he played just 38 games in 2025-26, 19 in 2024-25, and 39 in 2023-24. Paul George was meant to help in that regard, but he appeared in 37 games in 2025-26 and 41 in 2024-25.
Thankfully, with a workhorse in Brown, an All-NBA guard in Maxey, and a tremendous up-and-comer in Edgecombe, the 76ers will have the pieces to win with or without Embiid in 2026-27.
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