Sixers executive Bob Myers discussed the team’s two major offseason additions during an appearance on the Cousins podcast with Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady (Twitter video links). Myers offered some inside perspective into the long negotiating process that led up to the Jaylen Brown trade and talked about LeBron James‘ motivation for choosing Philadelphia instead of his other suitors.
Myers explained that pursuing Brown wasn’t a reaction to the playoff loss to New York. He said Sixers management started hearing rumors that Brown might be traded early in the offseason and began exploring whether they were legitimate. Myers called Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens a “straight shooter” and said his response was “What are you offering?” when the team first inquired about Brown.
He said that led to “50 conversations” before a deal was reached, and he complimented both organizations for not leaking the trade talks to the media. He also detailed what Brown can give the team that it didn’t have last season.
“We needed an edge, and I think Jaylen Brown sets an edge,” Myers said. “You need, to win a championship, guys that are of that ilk, that are comfortable being uncomfortable. … 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.”
Regarding James, Myers acknowledged that he picked Philadelphia because it gives him the best chance to win another title and said he opted to face the highest expectations with the Sixers over the comfort of staying in Los Angeles or returning to Miami or Cleveland.
There’s more on the Sixers:
- Owner Josh Harris addresses the team’s relationship with James, along with several other topics, in an interview with Sportico. Harris explains that James operates outside of the typical owner-player relationship. “LeBron doesn’t have a boss,” he said. “I’m totally comfortable with it. I think that LeBron — or any athlete who’s that exceptional (and if he’s not the GOAT, he’s in the conversation) — the level of focus and intensity and passion that he brings to the game, I’m going to learn from it, our team’s going to learn from it. This is a partnership — LeBron is our partner … and I’m glad he’s with us.”
- Knicks beat writer James Edwards III of The Athletic talks to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (subscription required) about the Sixers’ signing of Ariel Hukporti and whether he’s ready to become the primary backup center. Edwards describes Hukporti as a “traditional” big man who plays hard and tries to impact the game on defense, but expressed doubt that he’s ready for expanded minutes and says he was surprised that Philadelphia offered him more than the minimum.
- Adam Aaronson of The Philly Voice looks ahead to the Sixers’ 2027/28 cap sheet, noting that the team is likely to enter next summer above the first apron but below the second apron. Barring a money-saving trade, they won’t have access to the non-taxpayer mid-level exception that was used to add Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons this summer, but they should be able to use the lower taxpayer MLE. He suggests that the best scenario might be for Simons to play well enough to decline his $6.3MM player option and for rookie Labaron Philon Jr. to inherit his role. That would leave more room to retain Dominick Barlowwho has a $3.4MM expiring contract.