A trade that felt inevitable after the Boston Celtics brought up their star forward in serious trade talks once again, Jaylen Brown, saw those talks actually turn into a deal. And while it felt things were leaning to Brown being out of Boston, the return the Celtics got in return was a bit jarring for a player who was just named to the All-NBA Second Team and averaged the most PPG in his career, 28.8.
The Celtics, in exchange for Brown, received veteran forward Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks from the Philadelphia 76ers. With the 76ers adding a high-volume shot taker and scorer in Brown alongside stars Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, along with another guard with star potential, VJ Edgecombe, the three players’ production levels are undoubtedly going to change. Here is a breakdown of how each of their fantasy values will be affected with the addition of Brown in Philadelphia.
Joel Embiid’s Fantasy Outlook
Joel Embiid, when he is on the court, is one of the best fantasy bigs in the NBA. This past season, he averaged 26.9 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 3.9 APG. But that brings up the major problem of late in his career. He is more often than not off the court. In the past three seasons, he has played a combined 96 games—he played 38 in the 2025-2026 season. So, already with this in mind, despite his elite-level production their are already question marks on his fantasy value. Add Brown to the equation, and his value in fantasy drops even more.
Last season, Brown took 21.7 shots per game. This ranked as the second most out of any player in the NBA, with Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic being the one player above him. Granite Brown did see a rise in usage with Jayson Tatum being out for a bulk of last season. Though in Philadelphia, while he will likely not have that same usage as he did in the 2025-2026 season, it will still be high. Because of that, Embiid’s PPG average will go down, thus dropping his ceiling in fantasy basketball.
Tyrese Maxey’s and VJ Edgecombe’s Fantasy Outlooks
The same thing applies to Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe. Their values will go down with the offensive usage that Brown will have with the 76ers, as they will likely average less PPG. They also should see their APG dwindle a bit.
Brown, in the 2025-2026 season, proved he could initiate offensive sets well. He averaged a career-high 5.1 APG. With that skill set unlocking for Brown, Edgecombe, and Maxey will likely play off the ball more in the 2026-2027 season than they did in the 2025-2026 season.
Maxey last season averaged 6.6 APG, and Edgecombe averaged 4.2 APG.
A fantasy basketball sleeper that could also affect the fantasy value of Maxey and Edgecombe in a negative way is rookie 2026 first-round draft pick for Philadelphia, Labaron Philon Jr. He has a dynamic offensive game that has the potential to give him a meaningful role in the 76ers’ rotation in his rookie season. Last year for the Univeristy of Alabama, he averaged 22.0 PPG, 5.0 APG, and shot 39.9% from the 3-point line.
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