Anfernee Simons, Sixers Agree To Two-Year, $12.3M Deal
Anfernee Simons and the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to a two-year, $12.3 million contract. Simons will hold a player option for Year 2 of the contract.
Simons received interest from the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics and others.
The 76ers’ signing of Simons follows their trade with the Boston Celtics for Jaylen Brown.
Jaylen Brown Never Requested Trade; Celtics Didn’t Expect Offers To Improve If They Waited
Jaylen Brown never requested a trade from the Boston Celtics and his departure this offseason appears to have been driven by the front office. The Celtics moved forward with their trade of Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George and two first round picks.
“I’m told Jaylen Brown has been disappointed and disrespected with the way the Celtics have handled this situation, particularly because he never requested a trade,” said Shams Charania.
Brown is ready to move on to a new start with the Sixers.
“I’m told he’s already spoken to the team’s cornerstone guard, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgcombe. They have had great early conversations during the first 24 hours after this trade.”
Charania went on to explain how the Celtics arrived at this place and why they didn’t try to wait out the current offers for them to improve in the future.
“Once the Celtics missed out on Giannis Antetokounmpo-for the fourth straight year Jaylen Brown was dangled in trade conversations,” said Charania. “My understanding was Jaylen Brown felt disrespected and the only way to recoup the relationship at that point was to give Jaylen Brown that two-year, $145 million extension in July.
“But all indications now are that the Celtics were not going to offer that. It then became about seeing what you could get on the trade market. The Celtics set a very high bar. They asked for four or five first round picks. But that price just was not met in the marketplace. As time went on as they aggressively shopped him among eight to 10 different teams, the valuation plummeted across the NBA.
“When I talked to teams today, they have wondered why didn’t the Celtics prolong this later into July? Later into the offseason. What made them pull the trigger now?
“My understanding in Boston is they felt this was the best it was going to get for Jaylen Brown.”
The Celtics offered Brown in trade talks for Kevin Durant with the Brooklyn Nets in 2022 and again last offseason when they ended up trading away Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis.
Charania also reported that rival teams inquired with the Celtics on the potential of a trade for Jayson Tatum, but those calls were swiftly rebuffed.
WNBA Names Paige Bueckers, A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Caitlin Clark As All-Star Starters
The WNBA announced its 10 starters for the 2026 AT&T All-Star Game on Wednesday, led by Dallas Wings guard Paige Bueckers, Las Vegas Aces forward A’ja Wilson, New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart and Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.
The Indiana Fever placed three players in the starting group, while the Minnesota Lynx contributed two.
Wilson and Stewart each earned their eighth career All-Star selection, the most among this year’s starters. They will start alongside four-time All-Star Aliyah Boston of the Fever, three-time All-Star Natasha Howard of the Lynx, first-time honoree Jessica Shepard of the Wings and two-time selection Gabby Williams of the Golden State Valkyries.
Rookie guard Olivia Miles of the Lynx joins Bueckers and Clark in the backcourt, along with Fever guard Kelsey Mitchell, who earned her fourth All-Star nod and first career starting selection.
Bueckers topped all players in fan voting with 1,045,051 votes, while Clark finished second with 1,023,321. Wilson currently paces the league in scoring at 25.7 points per game, and Clark ranks fifth at a career-high 21.2 points per game.
Voting now shifts to the 12 reserve selections, which will be chosen by the league’s head coaches and announced July 7. Coaches cannot vote for players on their own roster.
As part of the WNBA’s 30th season celebration, Hall of Famers Cynthia Cooper and Teresa Weatherspoon will serve as honorary general managers, drafting rosters from the full pool of 22 All-Stars.
The 2026 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game will be played July 25 at Chicago’s United Center, airing on ABC at 8:30 p.m. ET.
• Aliyah Boston, Indiana Fever (4th All-Star selection)
• Paige Bueckers, Dallas Wings (2nd All-Star selection)
• Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever (3rd All-Star selection)
• Natasha Howard, Minnesota Lynx (3rd All-Star selection)
• Olivia Miles, Minnesota Lynx (1st All-Star selection)
• Kelsey Mitchell, Indiana Fever (4th All-Star selection)
• Jessica Shepard, Dallas Wings (1st All-Star selection)
• Breanna Stewart, New York Liberty (8th All-Star selection)
• Gabby Williams, Golden State Valkyries (2nd All-Star selection)
• A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces (8th All-Star selection)
Celtics Not Motivated By Money Or Follow-Up Trade In Dealing Jaylen Brown
The Boston Celtics’ blockbuster trade sending Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers was not a cost-cutting move and was not made with a follow-up deal in mind, according to a league source.
Boston sent the 2024 NBA Finals MVP to Philadelphia on Wednesday in exchange for Paul George, two future first-round picks and two second-round picks.
George has two years remaining on his four-year, $211 million contract, one fewer than Brown had remaining. The swap will save the Celtics roughly $2.9 million this season.
Despite that savings, a league source stressed the trade was not a financial decision. The source said there was no directive from ownership to move Brown.
The same source added that Wednesday’s deal was not executed with an imminent secondary trade already planned. Boston’s front office reportedly “agonized” over the decision for days before finalizing it.
Jaxson Hayes, Jazz Agree To Two-Year, $12M Deal
Jaxson Hayes and the Utah Jazz have agreed to a two-year deal worth $12 million. The Jazz will have a team option for the 2027-28 season.
Hayes leaves the Los Angeles Lakers following their sign-and-trade with the Utah Jazz for Walker Kessler.
Hayes appeared in 66 games last season with the Lakers, averaging 7.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in 18.3 minutes. Hayes first joined the Lakers during the 2023-24 season.
Hayes gives the Jazz extra depth at center behind Jusuf Nurkic.
Tobiars Harris, Spurs Agree To Two-Year, $31M Deal
Tobias Harris and the San Antonio Spurs have agreed to a two-year, $31 million deal. Harris is represented by Torrel Harris.
Harris averaged 13.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 27.7 minutes across 63 games with the Pistons.
The Spurs were looking to sign a forward in free agency and Harris gives them an option similar to Julian Champagnie. San Antonio will utilize their non-taxpayer midlevel exception on Harris and now be hard capped at the first apron.
Raptors Acquire Kawhi Leonard From Clippers For Brandon Ingram, Two First Rounders, One Swap
The Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Clippers are finalizing a trade of Kawhi Leonard for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two first round picks, one pick swap and two second rounders.
Leonard led the Raptors to the 2019 NBA championship and then left the franchise to sign with the Clippers.
The Clippers had elected not to offer Leonard an extension this offseason, which led him to enter the trade market. Leonard signaled that the Raptors were the one team where he’d commit to a long-term extension.
Leonard is coming off one of his strongest individual campaigns, averaging 27.9 points across 65 regular-season games. He earned All-NBA second team honors and placed seventh in MVP voting. The Clippers, however, finished 42-40 and were eliminated in the play-in tournament.
Leonard will immediately become eligible to sign an extension worth up to $123.7 million over two seasons with Toronto.
The Raptors were able to retain RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley as part of the trade as their preference was to instead include Ingram. Ingram signed a three-year, $120 million extension in February 2025 shortly after his trade from the New Orleans Pelicans to the Raptors. Ingram has two seasons remaining on the contract.
After letting Paul George leave in free agency in 2024, the Clippers have now reset their roster by trading away James Harden, Ivica Zubac and now Leonard.
Precious Achiuwa, Kings Agree To Two-Year, $11.5M Deal
Precious Achiuwa has agreed to re-sign with the Sacramento Kings on a two-year, $11.5 million deal. Achiuwa is represented by Bernie Lee and will be playing in his age-27 season.
Achiuwa averaged 10.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 23.9 minutes across 73 games with the Kings last season after he was waived by the Miami Heat on the eve of the regular season.
The Kings are entering a rebuild with uncertain futures for Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine.
Nets, Blazers, Nuggets Not Heavily Engaged With Celtics On Jaylen Brown Trade
The Boston Celtics may need to significantly lower their asking price for Jaylen Brown after several teams previously tied to the All-NBA wing have shown limited or no real engagement.
Boston has been seeking up to four first-round picks in addition to players for Brown.
The Portland Trail Blazers have been linked to Brown for some time, but their interest remains moderate at best and far below Boston’s asking price. The Blazers’ ability to match salary for Brown was also compromised by their trade on Monday for Ja Morant where they sent out Jerami Grant.
The Denver Nuggets have considered the possibility of acquiring Brown but have not spoken with the Celtics since the weekend. Denver’s interest has been significantly overstated, and the franchise lacks the draft capital to meet Boston’s demands, sources added, noting the Nuggets likely would not be motivated to part with that level of assets even if they had them.
The Brooklyn Nets, also previously connected to Brown, are not currently engaged with the Celtics and do not appear to be moving in that direction.
With outside interest falling short of Boston’s expectations, questions persist about the franchise’s path forward. Should the Celtics ultimately keep Brown, significant relationship repair may be required given how the situation has unfolded this offseason.
A reconciliation between Brown and the Celtics would likely prove difficult, but his eligibility for a two-year, $141.8 million contract extension in July could make that a possibility.
Jaylen Brown’s ‘Lukewarm’ Trade Market Could Push Celtics To Retain Him
The Boston Celtics are being met with a “lukewarm” trade market for Jaylen Brown as they engage with multiple teams following their initial talks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. If the Celtics are unable to find a team willing to meet their asking price, they could try to repair the relationship with Brown.
“We’re seeing kind of a lukewarm market for where Jaylen Brown is,” said Bobby Marks on NBA Today. “If I were betting man right now, I would say it is probably more likely that Jaylen Brown is back on the Celtics when we start training camp.”
“I’m also getting this feel that the teams out there feel like the Celtics might not be able to get what they want for Jaylen,” said Brian Windhorst. “And his value might be coming down. Whether or not it’s fair, or whatever. If the offers are not there, the Celtics may try to put the toothpaste back in the tube.”
“I’ve been told they’ve asked multiple teams for up to four first round picks and sometimes more than that,” said Shams Charania. I’ve gone team after team after team and I can’t find a team that is willing, at this moment, to give up that amount of draft capital.
“So then it just becomes are Brad Stevens and the front office fine trading Jaylen Brown for potentially less than that? I had one GM say ’40 cents on the dollar.’
“Because that’s what it has come down to in Boston. They just have not found teams, as of yet, to get to that threshold. But there’s still a lot of time left in this offseason.”
Brown is eligible for a two-year, $141.8 million contract extension in July.