The Boston Celtics are trading Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks (2028 and 2031) and two second-round picks (2028 and 2030), according to ESPN. The 2028 first-rounder could convert from a first to a pick swap that is more favorable to the Celtics, while the 2031 pick is unprotected. 

The stunning deal marks the end of Brown’s enormously successful 10-season run in Boston. The No. 3 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft made five All-Star teams with the Celtics. He averaged at least 20 points for seven consecutive seasons, took the Celtics to the Eastern Conference Finals six times, the NBA Finals twice, and won Finals MVP as Boston won its 18th NBA championship in 2024. Now, he will continue his career in a rival city alongside a core of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. 

Brown played alongside Jayson Tatum since Boston drafted the latter in 2017, but rumors about the Celtics splitting up the pair were common for much of their run together. The Celtics were linked to superstars like Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant over the years, but never pulled the trigger on a trade for Brown during his joint ascent with Tatum. The Celtics were rewarded for that faith with the 2024 title, but things slowly broke down from there.

Tatum tore his Achilles during Boston’s title defense in 2025, and he missed most of the 2025-26 season. With Tatum sidelined, Brown had the best statistical season of his career in leading the Celtics to 56 wins, but Boston blew a 3-1 lead and lost Game 7 of its first-round series against the 76ers with Tatum out. That series exposed holes in Boston’s roster that would be hard to address with both Tatum and Brown earning supermax salaries in this enormously restrictive CBA environment.

Brown responded by venting on Twitch after the Celtics were eliminated, claiming the NBA had an agenda against him. Perhaps just as notably, he called this season his “favorite year” of his basketball career rather than the 2024 title season. The Celtics, meanwhile, spent most of June negotiating a trade of Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo. When Antetokounmpo was ultimately dealt to the Miami Heat, Boston elected to move on from Brown anyway, sending him to Philadelphia in a shocker.

For much of the past two years, Philadelphia’s destiny was tied to two aging and injury-prone players. George has played just 78 regular-season games over two seasons with the 76ers, and he is entering his age-36 season. Coupled with the frequent absences of Embiid, Philadelphia appeared to be stuck with two supermax contracts that were aging badly.

But George, following a 25-game suspension, returned to finish out the season strong. He averaged an efficient 17.4 points per game in the playoff series win over the Celtics, and now, he’s headed to Boston to serve as their Brown replacement. With Brown only 29 years old, the 76ers have improved at the forward spot with a player six years younger than the one that they sent out. 

Now, if Embiid can only stay healthy, the 76ers have a real path to genuine championship contention in a crowded Eastern Conference. Let’s grade the trade.

Philadelphia 76ers: A+

Landing Brown while moving off George’s contract? An outright steal

When I ranked the worst contracts in the NBA in March, George, making supermax money ($54.1 million) for the next two seasons, ranked No. 5. At the time, that was a fairly common sentiment. He was out at that point due to a 25-game PED suspension, but even before that, he was inefficiently averaging a pretty modest 16.2 points per game and had far less defensive impact than at his peak. A good player, but a severely overpaid one whose 36th birthday was looming. The assumption was that Philadelphia would have to attach draft capital to move off of his contract.

What changed after that? He returned from that suspension and played 10 nearly star-level regular-season games. He was fantastic in the playoffs, making nearly half of his 3-pointers and turning back the defensive clock against the Celtics. Essentially, in 21 games, George went from immovable to the only player involved in a trade for Brown. For a brief, fleeting moment, another team considered George to be a positive-value asset, or at least not so overwhelmingly negative that he would impede a trade like this. Was it just shooting variance? Did the 25-game rest revive him? It just seems hard to imagine that a 36-year-old could turn the clock back like that in any sort of permanent way.

Brown is coming off a Second-Team All-NBA season. There is a credible reason to believe that the season was fool’s gold. Brown shot just under 51% on mid-range shots and just under 71% on restricted area shots from October through December. That’s around the point at which some people tried to nudge him into an MVP conversation he really never should have been a part of. After Jan. 1, he fell back down to earth, falling to around 41% on mid-range jumpers and 69% in the restricted area. He is not, in fact, a Kevin Durant-level individual scorer. But the 76ers did not pay a Durant-level price.

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Any concerns about analytics, about unsustainable shooting, lackadaisical off-ball defense or years of on-off data suggesting the Celtics were just fine without Brown, fly out the window at this price. Two first-round picks. Two good first-round picks, to be fair, especially the 2028 pick that will reportedly be the better of the 76ers’ or the Los Angeles Clippers’ selections. But two picks nonetheless. That’s all it took for Philadelphia to turn an inferior, 36-year-old small forward into a superior one going into his age-30 season. 

So Brown isn’t really a Second-Team All-NBA player. Who cares? He won’t need to be in Philadelphia. For all of these years, we’ve talked about the possibility of Brown getting traded so he could lead his own team. On the 76ers, there will be nights in which he’s the leading scorer and there will be nights in which he finishes fourth. To get a reliable, in-his-prime All-Star for two picks and what we’ve been treating as one of the NBA’s worst contracts is an outright steal. Brown has never missed more than 19 games in a season. George has missed more time in six of the past seven.

That youth and durability change a lot for Philadelphia. With Brown, Maxey and Edgecombe, the 76ers have so much shot creation that they can afford to be as cautious as humanly possible with Embiid. The name of the game, as we saw in the Boston series, is getting him into the playoffs healthy and then through the playoffs in one piece. He swung the series that we can now say broke up the Celtics. His workload has never been lighter than it is now.

Brown is eligible to extend with Philadelphia. Even if he tacks on the maximum two years, his deal will still expire after his age-34 season. George’s tenure in Philadelphia began in his age-34 season. That’s how substantial the age gap here is. Brown should remain a productive player for a long time, but even as he starts to slip, the younger Edgecombe is in place to grow into a bigger role. Edgecombe, who turns 21 this month, won’t be paid market value for three more years, and Embiid’s contract expires at that point. Philadelphia should be able to keep this group together at least that long, and potentially longer.

There are definite questions on the roster. The signing of Dean Wade addressed on-ball defense, and Brown will to some extent as well, but they’re still lacking on that end of the floor. The mere fact of paying Brown, Embiid and Maxey the max makes paying role players nearly impossible. The sixth-highest paid 76ers player right now is No. 22 overall pick Labaron Philon. They still have work to do.

But we can’t overthink this one. Two first-round picks should not be able to turn a bad contract into an All-NBA six years his junior. No matter what concerns you might have about Brown, he is a substantial upgrade on George. This is among the biggest trade no-brainers in recent history.

Boston Celtics: D-

A baffling move for Boston on multiple levels

Unless you’re treating George as a genuinely positive trade asset, Walker Kessler got traded for more than Brown on Wednesday. The Utah Jazz, at least, managed to extract two first-round swaps from the Los Angeles Lakers. The Celtics couldn’t even do that much with the 76ers. 

It’s not even clear that they got Philadelphia’s best available draft pick. That 2028 selection headed to Boston, reportedly the more favorable of the 76ers and Clippers, is great on paper. That’s especially true in the lottery reform era, where any pick has a chance to wildly outperform expectations. But the 2028 NBA Draft is regarded as relatively weak at this point. There’s a reason so many teams trading big-name players this offseason are targeting picks deep in the 2030s. Not only are the next few drafts considered underwhelming, but the new lottery reform rules expire after 2029, so there’s value in the uncertainty that will follow. Boston got one such pick in 2031. It did not get Philadelphia’s 2033 selection, arguably the best of the bunch for an executive with the sort of job security Brad Stevens has.

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The theory of trading Brown in the first place, unless there was unresolvable tension behind the scenes, seemingly related to his contract. Both he and Tatum are making supermax money. Having two players make 35% of the salary cap every year puts an almost impossible strain on your depth. When the Celtics pursued Antetokounmpo, part of the idea was that a 35% max salary was justifiable for an MVP candidate who provided the exact rim-pressuring skills their team was lacking. George is not an MVP candidate. He does not have the exact skill set the Celtics were lacking. He is also making supermax money, just on a contract that is one year shorter.

Brown’s value can’t have fallen that far, could it? And if so, were there not better offers out there? The Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to convince LeBron James to return for a minimum salary right now. Cleveland could’ve offered similar draft compensation, but with Jarrett Allen attached to solve Boston’s center problem. Reports have suggested that neither the Houston Rockets nor Charlotte Hornets, both coached by former members of Boston’s staff, were interested in Brown. They are both so asset-rich that either could have topped this price without really disturbing their long-term plans. 

Is there a follow-up move that makes this make sense? The Celtics still have a $27.7 million trade exception, but after signing Mitchell Robinson, they don’t have the first-apron hard cap flexibility they’ll need to take advantage of it without moving off more salary. Two first-round picks are valuable trade chips, but the Celtics still control most of their own picks moving forward. If they’re planning to shoot for, say, Trey Murphy III, you’d figure they already had the draft capital to get him. Maybe they’re planning to spend their own picks elsewhere and just didn’t want to leave themselves completely bankrupt in terms of remaining draft capital? Maybe the situation behind closed doors was just bad enough that they had to take what they could get? We may never know.

But on paper, the easiest comparison here is the disastrous Luka Dončić trade the Dallas Mavericks made in 2025. The Celtics traded the better and younger player for an older, worse one, with minimal draft capital attached. Brown is not as valuable as Dončić, but the same six-year age gap applies. The Celtics did not get meaningfully cheaper in the deal. They didn’t even steal a Max Christie-esque role player.

Every fiber of my being wants to give this trade an “F.” It is, by all reasonable logic, an “F” trade. But the Celtics have been so undeniably competent for so many years that I have to believe there is more to this trade than we currently appreciate. We’re talking about a team that won a championship with Brown two summers ago. They’ve made six Eastern Conference Finals since drafting Brown and won 56 games with him leading the team a season ago.

Whether there were interpersonal dynamics we don’t understand, the market was truly this barren, or if there’s another move coming that makes a bit more sense of the situation, the Celtics have earned just enough benefit of the doubt to believe there’s a better explanation for this trade than we see in this moment. 

But on paper, this is a catastrophe. 

The Celtics got older and worse without getting meaningfully cheaper or overwhelmingly richer in draft capital. A Brown trade made sense if it was going to net Antetokounmpo or a picks-and-depth bonanza. But at this price point, it’s just hard to justify giving Brown away rather than simply keeping him.

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) reacts to a call during Game 2 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball series vs Philadelphia 76ers, Tuesday, April 21, 2026, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The Boston Celtics will send star forward Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for veteran Paul George in a blockbuster NBA trade, ESPN reported Wednesday.

Boston will also receive two first-round draft picks and two second-round picks in the deal.

READ: NBA: Jaylen Brown’s future with Boston Celtics remains murky

The news emerged on the first full day of the NBA’s free agency negotiating period, but days after reports that Brown had been mentioned as part of a trade package for Giannis Antetokounmpo — who was traded from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Miami Heat.

The 29-year-old Brown reached the playoffs in each of his 10 seasons in Boston, including six appearances in the Eastern Conference finals and two NBA Finals appearances.

He was named NBA Finals Most Valuable Player in the Celtics 2024 championship run, coming off the best individual season of his career.

He averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game in 2025-26 as the Celtics claimed the second seed in the Eastern Conference, but they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the 76ers.

His outstanding play saw the Celtics defy predictions they would tread water with Jayson Tatum sidelined as he recovered from an Achilles injury.

Belgium’s Youri Tielemans (8) celebrates after scoring during the World Cup Round of 32 match against Senegal. (AP Photo)

Belgium produced one of the greatest escapes of the FIFA World Cup 2026, overturning a two-goal deficit with three late goals — including the latest goal in World Cup history — to beat Senegal 3-2 after extra time and storm into the Round of 16 on Wednesday.Just moments away from elimination, the Red Devils mounted an extraordinary fightback, with substitute Romelu Lukaku igniting the comeback before Youri Tielemans struck twice, including a dramatic penalty deep into stoppage time of extra time to send Belgium through.The victory also marked only the second time in the last 11 FIFA World Cups that a team trailing by two or more goals in a knockout match recovered to advance. Ironically, Belgium were responsible for the other such comeback too, when they rallied from 2-0 down to beat Japan 3-2 in the 2018 Round of 16.

Tielemans’ historic penalty completes stunning turnaround

Belgium looked destined for a shock exit after Senegal dominated much of the contest.Habib Diarra opened the scoring in the 25th minute before Ismaila Sarr doubled Senegal’s advantage six minutes into the second half with one of the goals of the tournament. Sarr controlled Moussa Niakhate’s long pass with a brilliant first touch before calmly beating veteran goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to make it 2-0.Courtois then kept Belgium alive with a string of crucial saves as Senegal threatened to put the contest beyond doubt.Belgium’s revival finally began in the 86th minute when all-time leading scorer Romelu Lukaku, introduced from the bench, pulled one back.Just three minutes later, Youri Tielemans fired home the equaliser in the 89th minute to stun Senegal and force extra time.With a penalty shootout only seconds away, Tielemans was brought down inside the box in the dying moments of extra time. Following a VAR review, the referee pointed to the spot.The Belgian midfielder calmly converted in the fifth minute of stoppage time in extra time, scoring the latest goal in FIFA World Cup history and completing one of the competition’s most remarkable knockout comebacks.

Senegal left heartbroken after VAR drama

Senegal’s players were left devastated after seeing victory slip away in dramatic fashion.Coach Pape Thiaw chose not to criticise the decisive penalty decision.“I do not want to interpret the decision. We all have different interpretations when it comes to awarding a penalty,” Thiaw said. “I’d rather not comment, not interpreting the referee’s decision,” he said.The Senegal players surrounded the referee after the award, with defender Pathe Ciss even lying on top of the penalty spot in protest before eventually moving aside for the kick.Reflecting on the collapse, Thiaw admitted Belgium capitalised when it mattered most.“It is a cruel loss, as we were good in the game. We had the advantage. We were leading 2-0. However a football match is not an 85-minute one. Belgium came back, and we were not able to deal with that … We must congratulate Belgium as they progress,” he said.He also explained his team’s reaction to the decisive VAR call.“Well, when the penalty was awarded, we had our own interpretation. We believed that there was no penalty. The players tried to challenge the decision. It’s their right. And, then the penalty was taken. And, this is why we were eliminated,” he added.

Steve Nelson takes up the role of managing director of Serco Leisure today (1 July 2026), following 18 years with the company where he has progressed through many roles, most recently director of leisure.

Serco Leisure operates more than 55 facilities in the UK, including the national sports centres at Lilleshall, Bisham Abbey, Stoke Mandeville Stadium – the birthplace of the Paralympic movement – and Alexander Stadium, a venue which will stage the European Athletics Championships in August this year.

Speaking on his appointment, Nelson says: “It is a privilege to lead an organisation I know so well and care deeply about. I believe that my appointment also reflects our commitment to developing and supporting internal talent, creating opportunities for our people to grow, thrive and reach their full potential within Serco.

“Serco Leisure has achieved significant success in recent years, and I look forward to building on that momentum. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Simon Lane for the support he has given me personally and also the wider leisure business over the past five years.

“My focus will be on continuing to deliver outstanding health and wellbeing services for our clients and communities, while driving sustainable growth and supporting our talented teams to achieve their full potential.”

Simon Bailey, managing director of Serco’s parent division says: “Steve’s appointment is a well-earned progression, reflecting both his depth of experience in the sector and his long- standing commitment to Serco. 

“Having progressed from managing leisure facilities into senior leadership roles, Steve brings a strong understanding of our operations, our people, and the values that underpin our delivery of public services.”

Outgoing managing director, Simon Lane, has joined UK holiday park operator, Verdant Leisure as CEO.

Youri Tielemans struck a 125th-minute penalty as Belgium remarkably rallied from two goals down and ultimately defeated Senegal 3-2 after extra time to keep alive their World Cup title hopes that had looked dead and buried.

Senegal’s Lamine Camara slid in on Tielemans as the ball flashed across the face of goal and conceded the spot-kick after a VAR review, with the Belgian picking out the top corner to complete an extraordinary comeback.

Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr had ⁠given Senegal a deserved 2-0 lead and they looked ​to ⁠be cruising through to the last 16 before Belgium netted twice in the final four minutes through Romelu Lukaku and Tielemans to force extra time.

Belgium now face the winner of the last-32 clash between co-hosts United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Seattle on Monday.

It ⁠was cruel on Senegal, who controlled much ‌of the 90 minutes and also struck the woodwork twice, but could not see out the game.

They became the fourth African side to bow out in a narrow defeat in the last 32 after South Africa, Ivory Coast and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and will wonder how they managed to let this one slip away.

They were inches away from the lead early on when Ismail Jakobs’ cross from the left was only parried by Thibaut Courtois, but a stretching Sarr could only steer the loose ball onto the post.

When the African side did break the deadlock in the 25th minute it was no surprise. Sadio Mane’s cross was headed goalwards by Sarr, but his effort came off the post again. This time the loose ball fell kindly for Diarra, and he side-footed home from seven yards.

Maxim De Cuyper forced an excellent save from Senegal goalkeeper Mory Diaw with a shot that looked to be heading into the top corner as Belgium trailed at the break.

Belgium brought on Lukaku for the ineffective Charles De Ketelaere at half-time, but were soon 2-0 ‌down. A stunning long pass from Moussa Niakhate was brilliantly controlled on the chest of Sarr, who held off two defenders before thundering the ball into the net.

Belgium struggled to create clear-cut chances until the ⁠final five minutes, and almost out of nowhere turned the game on its head by netting ⁠twice in three minutes.

First Lukaku turned the ball in at the near post from Thomas Meunier’s low cross and Leandro Trossard’s ball into the box from deep was headed into the net by Tielemans after a terrible decision from Diaw to come off his line.

Trossard and Tielemands had been ‌involved in a heated exchange earlier in the ​match but it was all smiles and hugs when the equaliser went in, before Tielemans was central again in the winner – earning and converting the spot-kick.

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge may not be able to play for his squad right now, but that doesn’t mean he’s looking away from the poor performances they’ve had of late.

Judge was straight-forward with his response to the Yankees dropping six games before their series finale against the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday afternoon in the Bronx.

“Well, it’s not great,” he said after his team’s woes. “Just a little lack of focus. We just gotta dial it in. Our ultimate goal is to win a World Series. I think guys have to remember that every single day they show up here, we’re here to win a World Series.”

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Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees sits in the dugout before a game against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento, Calif., on May 29, 2026. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Judge didn’t specifically go into what the lack of focus is, but he followed up by saying, “I think you guys see it.”

Judge, who has been on the injured list with a rib injury, believes getting that elusive 28th world championship for the franchise should be enough motivation to right the ship.

ANTHONY RIZZO CALLS OUT JAZZ CHISHOLM’S ‘IMMATURITY’ AFTER EJECTION DURING YANKEES’ FENWAY PARK SWEEP

“That should motivate you every single day you step on that field, no matter what happens, no matter what happens the day before,” he added. “I got a job to do. We’ve got an important sign when you walk out on the field. It’s the last sign you see before you’re out there: it says ‘do your job.’ Guys are here to do their job.”

Unfortunately for the Yankees, Judge’s pre-game speech didn’t result in snapping that losing streak on Wednesday. They fell to Detroit 6-2 in 11 innings, where four runs were scored in the top of the 11th by the Tigers.

The Yankees have dropped seven straight and eight of their last 10 games to fall three games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for the lead in the AL East.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees reacts after being ejected in the sixth inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Mass., on June 28, 2026. (Jaiden Tripi/Getty Images)

Yes, the Yankees remain in clear playoff position, sitting atop the American League Wild Card standings despite the skid. But, while the AL has been mediocre this season, it’s still a tight race as other teams are starting to get right.

New York could certainly use their captain back on the field, but there’s no timetable for his return and he didn’t have anything positive to say about his rehab in terms of putting the pinstripes back on soon.

“You know how it goes around here — guys can feel good, feel bad, but you’ve got to wait on images,” Judge said about his rib. The Yankees said when he was diagnosed with the injury that they would get additional imaging done roughly four-to-six weeks later.

New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge, who is injured, runs drills in the outfield before a baseball game between the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, Thursday, July 31, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

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“There’s no need to talk about this now,” Judge said. “I know it’s an important topic and a big issue, but I want to give you guys the full story.”

The story right now for the Yankees is a bleak one, but there’s a lot of season left to play. Perhaps the All-Star break, which begins July 13, could be a good reset as they look to get back to their winning ways.

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