76ers' Mike Gansey Says Jaylen Brown-Paul George Trade Was Key to Landing LeBron James

Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey expressed his belief this week that the organization's acquisition of Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics was the move that convinced LeBron James to sign with the Sixers in free agency.

During an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter, Gansey told Kevin Negandhi that he felt Brown's arrival paved the way for James to land in Philadelphia.

"Without getting Jaylen, I don't think we get LeBron," Gansey said. "Obviously Jaylen's one of the best players in the league and to get him onto the roster with Tyrese [Maxey], with VJ [Edgecombe], with Joel [Embiid], and then some of the free agents we got, obviously before all this, it changed the game for us.

"We just said, 'Hey, let's try to put a full court press: everyone reach out, sell him on Philly. I think if he comes he could be the missing piece and we could be really good.'"

The Sixers shocked the basketball world last month when they acquired Brown from the Celtics in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.

It seemed like a fairly modest price to pay for a five-time All-Star and one-time NBA Finals MVP coming off a career year that saw him finish sixth in the NBA MVP voting after averaging 28.7 points per game.

Suddenly, Philly went from a team that was the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference last season to one that looked like a potential championship contender.

That coincided with James hitting free agency after an eight-year run with the Los Angeles Lakers. The 41-year-old LeBron decided to play at least one more NBA season, while making it clear that vying for a championship was his top priority.

While several teams were rumored to be on James' radar, he ultimately chose the Sixers, thus completing arguably the best starting five in the NBA alongside Brown, Maxey, Embiid and Edgecombe.

While it remains to be seen how five players of that caliber will co-exist, the 76ers are shaping up to be the team to watch during the 2026-27 NBA season.