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The offseason certainly hasn’t been boring. While we wait for LeBron James to make yet another monumental decision, we’ve seen stars across the league change teams — several of whom have helped reorganize the pecking order in a revitalized Eastern Conference. Giannis Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat. Kawhi Leonard to the Toronto Raptors. And most recently on Wednesday evening, a blockbuster trade between the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics that shipped Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks.

Meanwhile, the Celtics stole backup big Mitchell Robinson away from the defending-champion New York Knicks, signing him to a three-year deal worth $47.4 million. For years, the East was considered the inferior conference. Maybe the West is still superior, but at the very least, the East won’t be boring this season. The restructuring has set up the conference to be as competitive and interesting as it’s been in a long while. There are currently seven teams in the East with 10-to-1 or shorter odds to win the conference. It’s been 18 years since either conference opened a season featuring that many teams bunched up so closely.

So how do the most relevant teams stack up? As we brace for James to make a move and other free agency decisions to shake out, here are the Eastern Conference tiers.

(Odds via FanDuel)

Tier 1 – The Champs
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New York Knicks (+290 to win East)
Knicks fans aren’t thrilled about owner James Dolan’s unwillingness to go into the second apron, which he called “suicide” for the myriad team-building penalties levied against franchises that venture into that realm. While the Knicks were able to retain Landry Shamet and Jose Alvarado as key bench pieces, they watched Robinson decamp for their biggest rival. Not great. Apart from Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks didn’t boast a ton of size. Now Robinson is gone and the Knicks are looking for a backup big.

But despite losing Robinson, the Knicks core that just delivered the organization’s first championship in 53 years remains intact. Finals MVP Jalen Brunson is one of the best clutch players of his era. OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges are two of the best two-way wings in the league. Josh Hart is a streaky shooter, but he’s a Swiss Army knife in every other department, offering so much value beyond scoring. And after reports of the Knicks dangling him at the trade deadline in an effort to court Antetokounmpo surfaced, Towns played arguably the best basketball in his career.

They might not have a ton of size and the bench, as ever, could probably use more reliable options. But the starting five is better than anything else in the conference. Oh, and they’re the champs. Until someone knocks them off the perch, they deserve to have the top spot all to themselves.

Tier 2 – One got better, the other got worse
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Boston Celtics (+460)
Prior to parting with Brown, the Celtics had better odds of winning the conference than the Knicks. Now they don’t. It’s not hard to figure out why. Boston traded Brown after a career year in which he made the All-Star team, was second-team All-NBA and finished just outside the top five in the MVP voting. He’s a former Finals MVP who enjoyed considerable success in Boston. And then he got in his feelings about being undervalued and not properly respected when the organization floated him in a deal to land Antetokounmpo. Whatever you think about how Brown reacted to that, the vibes were bad enough in Boston that Brad Stevens and the front office ultimately decided that he had to go.

How did Celtics, Jaylen Brown get here? Trade to 76ers caps off stunning deterioration of relationship
Robby Kalland
How did Celtics, Jaylen Brown get here? Trade to 76ers caps off stunning deterioration of relationship
People have been trying to break up “the Jays” — Brown and Jayson Tatum — forever. Now it’s finally happened. The Celtics get a complicated 2028 first along with an unprotected 2031 first-rounder. That’s fine for future team-building, but there’s no world where they’re better on the court this season with George instead of Brown. George is 36 and played just 37 games last season and 41 the season before. He’s also owed $54.1 million this season and has a $56.5 million player option the year after. There are pretty good odds he picks that up.

The Celtics still have considerable depth, as we learned when they surprised everyone last year and finished as the East’s No. 2 seed despite Tatum missing much of the season while recovering from an Achilles injury. But for an organization that fancies itself a contender every season, George is an unquestionable downgrade from Brown in nearly every respect.

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Toronto Raptors (+750)
As for the Raptors, last year’s No. 5 seed got decidedly better by swapping out Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick for Leonard, who is coming off a career year with the Los Angeles Clippers and made his seventh All-NBA team. The Raptors’ defense was already top five last season and should be even better with Leonard alongside Scottie Barnes, who made his first All-Defense team. The Raptors had to give up quite a few assets to make this happen — two unprotected picks in 2031 and 2033, along with a 2027 first-round swap and two second-rounders — which will make future team-building a lot harder when Leonard will likely be out of the league and Barnes will still be in his prime. That’s a problem for another time. For right now, the Raptors deserve increased attention.

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🏀 Five things to know Thursday
The NBA shuffle continues as the Celtics trade Jaylen Brown to the 76ers. Boston dealt Brown to Philadelphia for a package that includes Paul George, two first-round picks (2028 and 2031) and two second-round picks (2028 and 2030). The 76ers received an A+ in our trade grades, while the Celtics’ baffling move landed them a D-. The move has seen the betting odds on Philadelphia’s success shift sharply in a positive direction. Robby Kalland also has a look at how the relationship between Brown and Boston led to the superstar being sent away. And, in case you’re wondering, John Gonzalez says the Knicks are still elite in the East, but all the new looks in the conference will make for interesting times next season.
The Lakers find a big for Luka Dončić. Los Angeles traded for center Walker Kessler, sending unprotected first-round picks in 2031 and 2033 and first-round swaps in 2028 and 2030 to the Jazz. As the Lakers grapple with LeBron James’ legacy, they must also face the reality that building an incomplete team around Dončić could see their latest superstar leave them in the future.
A fairly stable day at Wimbledon. While women’s No. 5 seed and 2026 French Open champion Mirra Andreeva was upset by Barbora Krejcikova, the men’s and women’s draws mostly held out as expected on the first day of the second round.
Handing out MLB midseason awards. We’re halfway through an already wild and unpredictable MLB season, so who are the leaders for awards such as MVP, Cy Young, Rookie of the Year and more?
Who is primed to win the John Deere Classic? None of the world’s Top 12 players are set to tee it up in Silvis, Illinois, which means the race for the title appears wide open. American Ben Griffin is the betting favorite, but the pre-tournament favorite has not won the tournament in 11 years.
⚽ Do not miss this: USMNT wins a World Cup knockout stage match for the first time since 2002
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Imagn Images
While the United States Men’s National Team was the clear favorite entering their Round of 32 match with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the expected win didn’t come without a heavy dose of drama. While the USMNT did pick up a 2-0 victory to advance — the Americans’ first knockout stage victory in a World Cup in 24 years — they had to do it shorthanded after Folarin Balogun picked up a controversial red card in the 64th minute. Balogun had an adventurous match, scoring the United States’ first goal shortly before the half.

Despite being down to 10 men, the USMNT dug down, fought through and continued with their trademark attacking mindset, leading to Malik Tillman putting the match out of reach with the team’s second goal on a gorgeous free kick in the 82nd minute. The United States advances to the Round of 16, where the team will face Belgium, who scored a stunning comeback earlier against Senegal earlier in the day. Balogun, one of the USMNT’s most dangerous players, will miss that match as a consequence of his red card. (And here are our player ratings after the historic victory.)

Also on Wednesday, England survived a scary match with DR Congo, who held a 1-0 lead until Harry Kane scored twice late to preserve England’s hopes of World Cup glory. Curiosity leads to concerns that Thomas Tuchel’s flawed team construction could hamper England’s dreams.

👊 The storylines of the first half of UFC’s year
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2026 has already been a wild year for UFC action. The “Paramount Era” kicked off in January with UFC 324, an event that saw Justin Gaethje win the interim lightweight championship in the main event. That felt like a nice moment for a beloved all-action fighter, but no one could predict the ripple effect that victory would have. Gaethje’s win over heavily hyped prospect Paddy Pimblett turned out to be the moment that launched Gaethje into the main event of UFC Freedom 250 on the South Lawn of the White House, fighting full champion Ilia Topuria. Gaethje made good on the opportunity, following his victory — the first time he has held undisputed UFC gold — with a now-iconic backflip from the top of the Octagon with the White House in the background.

Gaethje’s win may have locked up the Fighter of the Year race before we even reached the halfway point of the year, which is one of the five takeaways that define the first six months of the UFC year by combat expert Brian Campbell.

Campbell: “In one of the more truly surprising and inspiring stories to come out of 2026, Gaethje went from being a 37-year-old action star one loss away from retirement to putting the capstone on his already Hall-of-Fame legacy by finally becoming an undisputed UFC champion. And, according to ‘The Highlight,’ he’s not done yet when it comes to defending his title to close out the year. All Gaethje needed was a pair of high-profile upset wins while co-authoring two of the leading candidates for fight of the year.
“It’s difficult, at this point, to imagine any fighter overtaking him in the fighter of the year race unless Gaethje were to lose badly in a third appearance. Ciryl Gane has a shot, however, should he be able to package a stoppage win over Pereira with an undisputed title victory in a rematch with Tom Aspinall. Sean Strickland, who upset Khamzat Chimaev in May to become a two-time middleweight champion, also has a shot at splashing the pot, as does flyweight king Joshua Van should he claim a second title defense. But it will undoubtedly take something spectacular, given how unlikely Gaethje’s win over Topuria appeared to be heading into the fight.”
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
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Yankees star Aaron Judge may be sidelined with a stress fracture of his ribs, but he thinks his slumping team has “a little lack of focus” and has to “dial it in” to get the season back on track.
An agent advises Rams on how to structure any new deal for embattled wide receiver Puka Nacua.
Things are even worse in New York for the Mets, but owner Steve Cohen put to rest any speculation about the job security of the president of baseball operations, David Stearns.
The Bengals came out on top of our rankings of the best one-two punch at wide receiver among all NFL teams.
27 teams have switched leagues ahead of the next college basketball season, and we have thoughts on all the moves.
Ciarre Campbell, the brother of Ravens defensive lineman Calais Campbell, has been charged in the death of their mother, Nateal Campbell.
There’s a brand new Pac-12 in college football, so check out how we got here and how the teams should perform.
We have a look at what’s behind Paul Skenes’ recent “slump” and more in our latest look at MLB trends.
Here is what the Celtics are getting — and the Knicks are losing — by signing Mitchell Robinson.
Fever coach Stephanie White condemned the “absolutely unacceptable” online harassment of Alyssa Thomas following Thomas’ foul on Caitlin Clark.
Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart and Tyler Shough headline our look at NFL sophomore quarterbacks.

As the NBA world awaits another LeBron James decision, the Philadelphia 76ers jumped in and stole all the headlines by making a stunning trade for Jaylen Brown on Wednesday night.

We’ll get into the details below, but just know this was a massive score for the Sixers that headlines our list below of the five best moves of the NBA offseason so far. We still have to wait and see where James ends up. When we have the answer, these rankings will likely be updated. But until then, here’s where things stand.

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1. 76ers score Jaylen Brown
   A deal that came out of nowhere shakes up the balance of power in the East
   The word “insane” has become pretty watered down in today’s sports parlance, but this Brown-to-Philly deal is insane. The Sixers are sending the Celtics Paul George, two first-round picks (2028 and 2031) and two second-round picks (2028 and 2030), according to ESPN, and in return get an in-his-prime MVP-level player to pair with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe.

Count me in for the retrospective report we’ll eventually get on how bad things had gotten between Brown and the Celtics, or just how toxic they felt Brown’s multi-layered grievances were going to be for them to feel they needed to move on this badly.

Because listen: George has been regarded as one of the worst contracts in the league since he showed up in Philadelphia. The Sixers probably should have had to give up draft capital just to get off that deal. Forget getting Brown.

Jaylen Brown trade grades: 76ers get ‘A+’ for landing Celtics star as Boston makes baffling decision
Sam Quinn
Jaylen Brown trade grades: 76ers get ‘A+’ for landing Celtics star as Boston makes baffling decision
George is a 36-year-old, super-injury-prone 3-and-D player who is set to make $54 million next season with a $56.5 million player option in the season following that. The draft picks Boston gets here are cool. It would’ve been better if Boston could’ve gotten 2033 instead of 2028, as by then there’s a much better chance the Sixers will stink. But who knows? Maybe they will end up pretty valuable as Embiid fades. But even without Embiid, the Sixers now have a legit Big Three to move forward with in Brown, Maxey and Edgecombe.

In most cases, you have to gut your roster to get a player like Brown. Independent of the draft picks, Philly just swaps George for Brown straight up? Good lord. What a deal. Now, the Sixers don’t have a lot of depth and who knows if Embiid can stay healthy. But if he can, this is a championship starting unit that, by the way, I would be considering quite strongly if I were LeBron James.

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2. Clippers trade Kawhi Leonard
   It was time for the failed Kawhi era to end in L.A., and the Clippers got a haul in return
   Clippers owner Steve Ballmer saying he didn’t want or plan to trade Leonard was always bogus. The Clippers would have been crazy to extend Leonard’s contract. This is a guy who barely played in half the Clippers’ games during his seven seasons in L.A., but after playing in 65 last season, and at an MVP level no less, his market was never going to be higher. They had to trade him.

But there was no guarantee they were going to get as good a deal as they got from Toronto, which sent them a total of four draft picks (unprotected firsts in 2031 and 2033 and two seconds), a first-round pick swap in 2027, Brandon Ingram and Gradey Dick.

For an injury-prone 35-year-old, that is a haul. And it’s in keeping with the borderline-amazing work the Clippers have done to dig themselves out from the massive hole the original trade for Leonard and Paul George put them in.

Kawhi Leonard trade grades: Clippers get ‘A+’ for franchise-altering pivot as Raptors take major risk
Sam Quinn
Kawhi Leonard trade grades: Clippers get ‘A+’ for franchise-altering pivot as Raptors take major risk
First, they let Paul George walk for nothing two summers ago when it would’ve been easy to overpay him with a new arena to fill. Then they swapped a 36-year-old All-Star point guard, James Harden, for a 26-year-old All-Star point guard in Darius Garland. They traded Ivica Zubac to the Pacers for a 2026 top-four protected pick — which landed at No. 5 and thus delivered the Clippers Keaton Wagler — and a 2029 first.

Now add these two future first-rounders from Toronto, and suddenly this Clippers team has gone from basically having no future building blocks to a young All-Star point guard, an even younger potential All-Star point guard behind him, and a restocked draft chest. All while ridding themselves of what would have become dead-weight deals. Letting George walk was a single. Trading Harden was a double. Trading Zubac was a triple. Trading Leonard was a grand slam.

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3. Raptors trade for Kawhi Leonard
   Toronto got back in title contention by bringing back the man who led the team to the 2019 championship
   I love this deal for the Raptors almost as much as I love it for the Clippers. Leonard goes back to Toronto, where in 2019 he authored the greatest one-year story in NBA history by delivering the Raptors their first championship. And now he puts them in position to win a second.

Toronto is by no means the favorite in the East, but outside of the Knicks, who just lost Mitchell Robinson by the way, look around the conference and tell me who is definitively better than the Raptors.

The Pistons barely got out of the first round after winning 60 games, and we still don’t even know what’s going to happen with Jalen Duren. The Celtics lost Brown, as previously mentioned. The Cavaliers were no match for the Knicks, and the simple truth is nobody is scared of a Harden-led team.

The Heat got Giannis Antetokounmpo, sure, but they lost Norman Powell and don’t have nearly enough shooting to support their frontcourt of Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. The Magic can’t score. The Hawks are pretty good but certainly not great. The 76ers added Brown, but lack depth and nobody would bet very much on Embiid staying healthy.

So you have the Knicks and the Pacers, who are bringing back Tyrese Haliburton from the 2025 Finals team and replaced Myles Turner with Zubac. Toronto has every right to believe it’s in the same class as Indiana, Miami, Philadelphia, any of these non-Knicks teams — at least until we see if LeBron ends up on any of them.

Either way, just as it did in 2019, Leonard’s presence vaults Toronto into contention. They already took Cleveland to seven games with a roster that defends and runs like crazy, but lacked the elite half-court shot-maker every contender needs. Scottie Barnes is overtasked as that guy. He’s the Scottie Pippen, the do-everything defender/athlete who will get you 20 points in the cracks. Leonard is the Michael Jordan. That’s worth the cost of the draft picks. Ingram was a negative for them moving forward anyway. Gradey Dick is whatever.

Keeping Leonard healthy is a concern. The good news is he just came off one of the healthiest and arguably the best regular season of his career. He played in 65 games, averaging 27.9 points and 6.4 rebounds on 50/39/89 shooting splits. The best part for Toronto? It will reportedly be only a two-year deal for Leonard. It’s probably going to be north of $60 million annually, but even if Leonard can’t stay healthy, this isn’t a contract that’s going to bury the Raptors long-term.

On Tuesday afternoon, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who has his hand as close to the LeBron James NBA pulse as any reporter out there, issued the following advice to all would-be James suitors.

“If you want LeBron, you’ve got to go make a move,” Windhorst said. “And I don’t mean bringing LeBron in [for a meeting]. Make a move to improve your team. And then you get his attention.”

Windhorst wasn’t talking about the kind of margin move every team is making or trying to make to improve their team. He was talking a splash move. One that genuinely moves the championship needle. On Wednesday night, the Philadelphia 76ers stormed through the back door to make that exact kind of move — sending Paul George and four total draft picks (two firsts and two seconds) to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Jaylen Brown.

Was it enough to get LeBron’s attention?

It sounds like the Sixers hope so. According The Athletic, they have “thrown their hat into the proverbial ring” to acquire LeBron’s services on the heels of their Brown heist. And yes, it was a heist. Typically a team trading for an All-NBA player in the middle of his prime has to gut its roster to do so, but independent of the picks involved, the Celtics were willing to do it for a straight-up George swap.

Jaylen Brown trade grades: 76ers get ‘A+’ for landing Celtics star as Boston makes baffling decision
Sam Quinn
Jaylen Brown trade grades: 76ers get ‘A+’ for landing Celtics star as Boston makes baffling decision
Why did the Celtics trade Brown for this package?
Was that because they found themselves backed into the corner of a soft market, and had burned the bridge they needed to get back to square with Brown? Or was it because Brad Stevens quietly agrees, at least to an extent, with the nerd-number mob that has long painted Brown in a most unflattering analytical light? In the clip below, Windhorst hints at the latter.

“Even though Jaylen Brown was talking about himself for MVP, the Celtics did not feel like Jaylen had the best season on their team…They felt that Derrick White had a better season.”

— Brian Windhorst. 😳

(h/t @MrBuckBuckNBA)

pic.twitter.com/zwY9tORjoV

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) July 2, 2026
Even the most fervent Brown supporter would have a hard time explaining some of these numbers. Over the last two years there have been 25 different All-NBA players, and Brown is the only one to have a negative career net rating in both the regular and postseason.

For all the credit Brown received for the Celtics’ surprising run to the No. 2 seed this season despite the absence of Jayson Tatum for most of the campaign, both the offense and defense were better, on paper, when he was on the bench, and the team was 9-2 when he didn’t play at all. This is in keeping with a startling career-long trend of the Celtics being better without Brown than with him, as is plainly laid out below by Yahoo’s Tom Haberstroh.

One possible reason Brad Stevens made the move he did:

The Celtics were 90-36 (.714) in games that Jaylen Brown did NOT play.

36-6 (.857) in last three seasons.

Equivalent of a 70-win team. https://t.co/lWKM9zxckg pic.twitter.com/bPrODAvJ60

— Tom Haberstroh (@tomhaberstroh) July 2, 2026
All of this is to say, Brown probably isn’t impactful enough to warrant the supermax contract he comes with, and the Celtics realized that. So did a lot of other teams, which is why they had to settle for Philadelphia’s uninspiring package. But hey, one team’s trash is another’s treasure, and in Brown, the Sixers absolutely stumbled into a pot of gold.

Brown might not be 1A material, but he’s proven to be a championship player. Brown, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, is right to have recently pointed out that he has more combined regular and postseason wins than any player in the league during his 10 years. He’s a winner. Always has been. If you think that’s because he’s had great teammates, well, nobody wins at the rate Brown has without elite support.

But fine. Even if you want to kneel at the altar of the spreadsheet gods, and totally dismiss how great a player Brown to cast him as a system- and support-dependent star, well, guess where else he’s going to have great support? With the Sixers.

When LeBron James has been a free agent in the past, he’s been pretty exclusive about which teams he allows to pursue him. Though far more teams tried to get him, in his past three legitimate free agencies, he and agent Rich Paul have taken 14 total meetings:

In 2010, James met with the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. He wound up signing with the Heat.
In 2014, Rich Paul conducted meetings on James’ behalf with the Heat, Cavaliers, Bulls, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers. James would later meet with the Heat personally as well as the Cavaliers before ultimately returning to Cleveland.
In 2018, James met with the Lakers, while Paul met with the 76ers on his behalf. He ultimately joined the Lakers.
But he’s taking a different approach to his 2026 free agency. It’s July 2, and the only team he’s known to have ruled out is the Lakers. Conversations have been held, and interest has seemingly been expressed, but it does not seem as though James is in any rush to make up his mind, nor has a field truly been set. He has essentially told the league to come and get him.

So you know what? If any team can get Rich Paul on the phone right now and try to sell James on a future playing for them, why don’t we make the pitch? Below, we’re going to make the pitch for all 29 non-Laker teams and rank them based on their likelihood of success.

As much of the reporting has thus far suggested, the primary driver for James here is going to be happiness. What exactly does that mean? The ability to legitimately compete for a championship, for one. Playing in a market that is, for one reason or another, desirable is another. Personal relationships with key stakeholders help. And while money will by no means be a dealbreaker for those who don’t have it, the ability to pay James a salary commensurate with his stature in the sport certainly doesn’t hurt.

Something further to keep in mind: the fact that James is seemingly open to taking a minimum or close to minimum salary means that he is going to generate a substantial amount of surplus value for whichever team he signs with. Having, say, a $30 million player count for less than $3 million against the cap is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for front offices. James, therefore, has the leverage to make some requests here. With that in mind, a category we will keep in mind will be what sort of moves these teams can still make to appeal to James.

Got it? Good. Let’s begin

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29. Memphis Grizzlies
    The pitch: “You started your career by playing with Carlos Boozer for a year. Finish your career by playing with Cameron Boozer for a year. Plus, there will probably be an opportunity for a pretty lucrative Hyatt sponsorship here.”

Likelihood of success: Non-existent. He literally said he might have “pulled an Eli Manning” to avoid playing for the Grizzlies had they drafted him.

Jaylen Brown’s Boston Celtics career started with a chorus of boos from fans angry that the team selected him with the No. 3 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. A decade later, it ended with a chorus of boos from fans angry that the team traded him to a bitter rival that had knocked them out of the playoffs two months earlier.

In between, Brown won a championship and a Finals MVP, made six Eastern Conference Finals and two Finals, earned five All-Star and two All-NBA appearances, never missed the playoffs, appeared in 816 of a possible 942 games (86.6%) between the regular season and playoffs, and became an icon in Boston.

And now he’s gone, and the Brown-Jayson Tatum era, one of the most successful in the history of the storied franchise, is over.

The trade — Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks — is a gut punch to the fanbase that is difficult to comprehend. Even Brown remains at a loss nearly 24 hours later.

“I’m still processing how this all went down. I’m excited and disappointed at the same time. I earned my respect from this city. I never asked for shortcuts or special treatment. I simply showed up every day, put my head down, and accepted every challenge,” Brown wrote in a statement Thursday.

Shortly after he was drafted, Brown donned a Celtics hat and made a promise to the people of Boston: “I’m gonna go to war for this city. I’m going to play with a lot of passion and leave it all on the floor every night.”

“I’m overly confident. I believe in myself 100%,” Brown continued. “I believe in my game and I believe in my work ethic. I don’t believe anybody works as hard as me, especially not in this draft class. I’m going to go out and show what I can do. Rome wasn’t built in a day. It’ll take time. [But] you’ll see.”

He stayed true to his word.

Brown got better year after year, to the point that he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season, finished sixth in MVP voting and turned what was supposed to be a gap year into a 56-win campaign and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. He never missed extended time, and even played through a partially torn meniscus in the 2025 playoffs. He immersed himself in the community with his foundation and charity work.

“Yeah, I play for the Celtics,” Brown said last year. “Yeah, I started businesses here. But I’ve also been in the community. I’ve been in the Boys and Girls Clubs. I’ve connected with people. I spend time. People know me by name because I spend time in the community.

“Sports are very powerful. But there are other things that are more important.”

Brown was not a perfect player. And he is an expensive one. He is owed $183 million over the next three seasons and is up for a $142 million extension later this month. Also, some of his comments over the last year were confusing at best and selfish at worst. Why would you say last season was your “favorite season” of your career immediately after the team blew a 3-1 lead in the first round of the playoffs?

But what player is perfect?

Brown was easy to root for because of his work ethic and drive as much as his incredible talent. For a decade, every time you walked into TD Garden or turned on the TV for a Celtics game, you could count on Brown to be on the floor giving it his all. And more times than not, the Celtics won.

If the Celtics had traded him for two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, everyone would have understood. Many would have celebrated. Instead, they replaced him with a 36-year-old who has reached the 60-game mark once this decade and was suspended 25 games last season for violating the league’s anti-drug policy and four draft picks that may not amount to anything.

Brown, who reportedly never asked to be traded, didn’t mention the organization in his farewell message.

“The relationships I built here, the battles we fought together, the championship we brought to this city, and the connection I shared with the fans, I’ll carry on with me. Saying goodbye isn’t easy when you’ve invested your heart into something,” Brown wrote.

“I’m big on respect and actions speak louder than words. To the people of Boston, thank you. To the community I built here I love you, and to the shiftaz we are locked in for life.”

Not long ago, when Brown was riding through the streets of Boston on a duck boat, Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy in hand, it seemed he and the Celtics would be locked in for life, too. Now he’s gone, and when next season begins without Brown in the starting lineup next to Jayson Tatum, fans will still be wondering why it had to end this way.

The San Antonio Spurs have added Billy Donovan to their coaching staff, according to ESPN. Donovan, who stepped down as the coach of the Chicago Bulls in April, will reportedly be Mitch Johnson’s lead assistant.

Donovan, a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s class of 2025, reportedly interviewed with the Orlando Magic before they hired Sean Sweeney. Weeks before that, the University of North Carolina was reportedly interested in hiring him, but Donovan wouldn’t engage with UNC (or any other interested college programs) until the end of the NBA season, by which point Michael Malone had already been named coach of the Tar Heels.

In San Antonio, the 61-year-old Donovan will be an assistant coach for the first time in more than three decades. He began his coaching career under Rick Pitino at Kentucky, but left for a head-coaching job at Marshall in 1994. After two years there and 19 years at Florida (where he won two national championships), he made the jump to the NBA in 2015. Donovan spent five years with the Oklahoma City Thunder and six with the Bulls, accumulating a 469-413 record.

Ranking five best moves of NBA offseason (so far): 76ers’ shocking Jaylen Brown trade tops the list
Brad Botkin
Ranking five best moves of NBA offseason (so far): 76ers’ shocking Jaylen Brown trade tops the list
The Thunder reached the postseason in all five of Donovan’s seasons, but the Bulls had just one playoff berth under his watch. That came in the 2021-22 season and resulted in a first-round exit. Chicago failed to reach the postseason or finish with a winning record in Donovan’s last four years. Nonetheless, the Bulls, after significant front-office changes, said they wanted Donovan to return as their coach next season. He decided to pursue other options instead.

“After a series of thoughtful and extensive discussions with ownership regarding the future of the organization, I have decided to step away as the head coach of the Chicago Bulls, to allow the search process to unfold,” Donovan said. “I believe it is in the best interest of the Bulls, to allow the new leader to build out the staff as they see fit.”

Donovan will now fill the role vacated by Sweeney, who was Johnson’s lead assistant last season as the Spurs marched all the way to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the New York Knicks in five games. It was Johnson’s first season as San Antonio’s full-time head coach. The 39-year-old assumed the role on an interim basis after longtime coach Gregg Popovich had a stroke in 2024-25.

LeBron James is, by far, the biggest name on the free-agent market as he tries to figure out where he’ll spend his 24th NBA season after announcing he will not re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers following eight years in L.A.

When James announced he was hitting free agency, the quickly speculated short list of suitors included the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Miami Heat — two teams he’s starred for in the past and one that gives him a chance to play with his good friend and longtime rival Stephen Curry. However, James and his agent Rich Paul have been clear that they’re willing to hear pitches from everyone around the league and that, in the right situation, a veteran minimum deal isn’t out of the question.

On Friday, Paul put out a new episode of his Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman. He detailed the teams James is considering on a whiteboard, listing 10 and outlining what he sees as the pros and cons of each potential destination.

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Game Over Podcast
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1. Philadelphia 76ers
   Interestingly enough, the first team discussed was not one of those three presumptive frontrunners, but instead the Philadelphia 76ers, who are suddenly an intriguing option after trading for Jaylen Brown. Per Paul, “everything changed” after the Brown trade, and he detailed why Philadelphia would be a great fit for James.

Paul noted that James “loves [Tyrese] Maxey” and highlighted VJ Edgecombe’s talent and what James could help him unlock. He also went back a little later to explain that Jameer Nelson being part of the front office — “ex-player” — and the Mike Gansey connection. The two were high school stars in Ohio at the same time, and Paul insisted that James “absolutely” remembers Gansey, Philly’s president of basketball operations, from those days.

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2. Miami Heat
   The Heat’s pitch is pretty simple for Paul. It’s a strong starting lineup — Davion Mitchell, Andrew Wiggins, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo — plus two people that James has longstanding relationships with in Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra. As he noted numerous times as he went through teams, the existing relationships with each team matter, and aside from Cleveland — and perhaps even including Cleveland — there’s nowhere James has a great established connection and built-in trust with a coaching staff and front office than Miami, where he played from 2010-14 and won two titles.

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3. Cleveland Cavaliers
   After running through the potential starting lineup around James, Paul shouted out owner Dan Gilbert and his late son, Nick, as well as president of basketball operations Koby Altman. Paul then called assistant GM Brandon Weems the “X-factor.” Weems is “basically LeBron’s brother,” Paul said.

The negative Paul pointed out regarding the Cavaliers is that Darius Garland — a client of Paul’s Klutch Sports — is no longer there after the team moved him in the James Harden deal. “No offense to Harden, but no Garland, because he loves Garland like he loves Maxey,” Paul said, making it clear that a Klutch connection will be helpful in the recruitment of James.

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4. Denver Nuggets
   One of the favorite darkhorse teams for James doesn’t just get mentioned on the board, but got the full lineup treatment from Paul, along with Philadelphia, Miami, Cleveland and Minnesota. Paul noted that “the Kroenke family, we’re close to” as James not only respects the Kroenkes as owners but has personal relationships that go beyond the court. Kellerman asked if Denver was really in consideration, and Paul said “they wouldn’t be on the board” if they weren’t.

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5. Minnesota Timberwolves
   The Timberwolves were the team Kellerman was most excited about, for whatever that’s worth (probably nothing). Paul rattled off their starting lineup and then pointed to the respect they have for team president Tim Connelly and the new ownership in Minnesota. Paul made specific mention of Jaden McDaniels, recalling Anthony Edwards’ famous “they got KD, but we got Jaden McDaniels” quote.

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6. Dallas Mavericks
   The Mavs pitch has nothing to do with basketball. Paul pointed out four things that the Mavs bring to the table:

“In Dallas, they got oil, they got golf, you got Macau in the Sands group and then with [team president] Masai [Ujiri], you got the whole continent of Africa. A lot comes with Dallas and Masai.”

There’s no mention of Cooper Flagg or the roster, as the selling point in Dallas is entirely the business opportunities off the court.

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7. Golden State Warriors
   The only names listed for the Warriors are Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. But as Kellerman noted, their placement on the board and how late Paul mentioned them seems odd. Kellerman says Paul is either playing four-dimensional chess by putting the Warriors on the periphery or they aren’t the frontrunners many think they are. Paul responds, “You can think whatever you think. This is my board, you decide what you want to think.”

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8. Boston Celtics
   After the Warriors, Paul pointed out Boston with “Brad [Stevens] and [Jayson] Tatum.” That’s the only mention of Boston, which makes it seem unlikely as a top choice. Still, the Celtics get a spot on the board and as Paul noted earlier, that means they have a chance.

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9. San Antonio Spurs
   For San Antonio, the board just says “Spurs” and all Paul says is, “then you’ve got the Spurs.” Again, this seems unlikely but perhaps the insinuation is that San Antonio’s pitch is as simple as the opportunity for James to play with Victor Wembanyama on the Western Conference champions.

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10. New York Knicks
    “If the Knicks hadn’t have won, there wouldn’t even be no board. He’d be going to the Knicks.”

That was perhaps the most fascinating line from Paul, and it came toward the end when they reached the Knicks’ placement on the board. James has long toyed with the idea of joining the Knicks and playing full-time in Madison Square Garden.

Apparently, had the Knicks needed one more piece to try to get over the hump, they would’ve been the choice, according to Paul. But coming off a title, they seem far less likely a destination — but again, they’re still on the board.