Anfernee Simons, new Sixers additions react to big Jaylen Brown trade
· Yahoo Sports
The Philadelphia 76ers have been in the midst of a busy offseason as they look to climb the ladder in the Eastern Conference. A new front office regime led by President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey has been aggressive in retooling the roster for the upcoming season.
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The Sixers brought in Anfernee Simons, Dean Wade, and Ariel Hukporti in free agency while also pulling off a stunner of a trade in acquiring Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics. The moves are expected to help Philadelphia really challenge and take down the defending champion New York Knicks in the 2026-27 season.
Simons, who played with Brown briefly while with the Celtics in 2025-26, gave his thoughts on what Brown can bring to the table.
"Just a guy that's high character," Simons said via Zoom on Tuesday. "A guy that's will come in and compete each and every night on both sides of the floor. When it comes to being a two-way player, he's like kind of the epitome of that. He is gonna guard the best player and go out there and give you 30. So, I think that's what makes him special, what makes him different. So, he's gonna come in and bring that championship mentality from day one and try to instill that in the team."
Brown is coming off a season in which he averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists while shooting 47.7% from the floor and 34.7% from deep. He played in 71 games and was able to lead the Celtics to the No. 2 seed in the East despite not having Jayson Tatum for all, but 16 games during the season. He is a phenomenal player and should enhance everybody on the Sixers, including the new additions.
When Wade was set to sign with Philadelphia, he had no idea that a possible trade was going to happen. He thought the rumor had passed, but then it popped up on July 1.
"I heard, like, a rumor about it, and I was like, ‘Oh, that's like interesting.’," added Wade. "Then I didn't hear anything else about it, so I was like, ‘Huh, maybe it just died or whatever.’ And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, it just kind of popped back up, and it was a done deal. So, yeah. It was pretty exciting. My agent called me. We were all just talking about it, and I think he's gonna be a great fit, and the way he plays, and the competitor he is, it’s really gonna take us to the next level."
Then, there's Hukporti who went through the free agency period for the first time in his career. He was in the same boat as Wade as he did not know that Brown to the Sixers was a possibility, but he's looking forward to playing with him fresh off a championship run with the Knicks.
"Yeah, so that's my first time, really, in free agency, so everything was going a little fast, but I'm happy," Hukporti added. "He won in the finals as well. So, that's another guy who has another experience when it comes to the playoffs. So, I'm definitely excited to learn and to play with him."
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Anfernee Simons, new Sixers additions react to big Jaylen Brown trade