RealGM Basketball Wiretap

08 July 2026

• Duke Miles, Sixers Sign Exhibit 10 Contract

  The Philadelphia 76ers have signed guard Duke Miles to an Exhibit 10 contract. Miles will spend the summer with the Sixers and then will go to training camp on a non-guaranteed contract.

  Miles went undrafted out of Vanderbilt at the 2026 NBA Draft. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 16.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals as a senior for the Commodores last season.

• Several Teams Believe They Have Shot To Sign LeBron James Despite Cleveland 'Vibes'

  LeBron James continues to be courted as a free agent, with no definitive timeline for when he'll make a decision. The "vibes" are now reportedly pointing towards James coming full circle and returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Rival teams have taken notice of James spending the summer in Akron, Ohio, as well as his recent reunion with 2016 Cavs teammates.

  However, the Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers all believe they have a shot at landing James for next season. The Nuggets, Warriors, Wolves and Sixers all believe they have made a compelling pitch to the NBA's all-time leading scorer for him to sign on for 2026-27.

  There has been a noticeable absence of dialogue and information coming from James' camp so far through the process. James hasn't met directly with any of the teams involved and they are working off assumptions. The way James is handling this free agency mirrors his prolonged process both in 2010 and 2014 when he kept his decision-making within a tight inner circle led by Rich Paul.

  Paul has provided the most tangible insights during one of his recent podcasts showing a whiteboard with James' options of various teams and how he could slot into each.

  James finished the regular season with 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists in 33.2 minutes across 60 games. James had a PER of 20.5, which was his lowest mark since his rookie season in 2003-04 when he had an 18.3 mark.

• Jaylen Brown's Value Went Down Due To Way Celtics Handled Trade Process

  The way the Boston Celtics approached their trade talks involving Jaylen Brown played a role in the return they received from the Philadelphia 76ers, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

  The Celtics offered Brown in a trade with the Milwaukee Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo and then were forced to pivot to other options after he was instead traded to the Miami Heat. In the days afterwards, the Celtics went from maintaining a high asking price to a considerably lower one as they were the ones soliciting trade offers rather than receiving them from rival teams.

  "I honestly feel like people in Boston believed this was the best offer they were going to get," said Charania on the Stephen A. Smith radio show. "They were going to get Paul George, a player that can help them win now, multiple picks, and multiple seconds, and that's the route they went with.

  "They talked to 8 to 10 teams. There were moments where they were doubling back to teams over and over, like, 'What's your best offer? Can you give us your best offer? We need your best offer. We're going to move him.'

  "You know, when you do it once or twice, okay, that's kind of strange. But you do it three, four, or five times, and it gets to the point where teams around the league believe you're kind of desperate to move off this guy. I do think that hurts the value-it diminishes the value overall. We saw Jaylen Brown's value suffer partly because of how the Celtics handled the shopping process.

  "I think that's the aspect I got when I was talking to teams. This wasn't a process that was necessarily done where you targeted one team and you're going to trade him to that one team, because there wasn't that one team out there willing to meet the threshold the Celtics had initially set, which was like four or five first-round picks."

  Some teams who were initially interested in Brown were scared off by the initial high asking prices set by the Celtics and moved on to other targets. The Celtics also felt a sense of urgency to trade Brown before he became extension eligible as they had no interest in offering him a new contract.

• Nets, Wolves Had Real Interest In Jaylen Brown But Moved On Before Celtics Reached Deal With Sixers

  The Boston Celtics received trade interest from a number of other teams on Jaylen Brown, but some of those teams dropped out of the bidding and moved forward with other teams. This left the Celtics to eventually move forward with their trade to the Philadelphia 76ers that was widely received as a surprise and for less than expected when he first was put on the trade market with their offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

  The Brooklyn Nets and Minnesota Timberwolves were amongst the teams with interest in Brown that decided to move on before the final agreement was reached. The Wolves traded for LaMelo Ball on the morning after the second round of the draft.

  "Why this deal and why now?" said Zach Lowe on his podcast on Tuesday. As we've begun to sift through the rubble of this, the answer to that has become a little bit clearer. I think it's because Boston felt an urgency to do this. I think they were worried about the internal discord of bringing him back to a team that was going to at least mostly be Jayson Tatum team as the No. 1 option.

  "I think they were worried that deals were starting to disappear. Brooklyn moved on to other business. I think there was real interest there. Minnesota moved on to its business. I think there was real interest there. Jon Krawczynski talked about it on the podcast.

  "Toronto, if they had been interested at all, pivoted to Kawhi Leonard and coming back to Toronto.

  "Was there fear? I think Boston probably miscalculated on a couple of levels. Number one, the Philly option was not going to go away. I think Josh Harris became pretty fixated on getting Jaylen Brown. And I think they could have squeezed another asset out of the Sixers, for sure.

  "And I also think-I'm curious to hear-I think there was at least one or two other teams who might have been interested in Jaylen Brown who got intel that Jaylen Brown was not super interested in them and to maybe stay out of the bidding. I think Boston felt the circle closing.

  "And then you throw on top of that teams like Houston and Cleveland, who could have had the assets, just weren't diving into it at all.

  "I thought Portland was kind of a wild card," said Bobby Marks.

  "That's the one where I'm like did Jaylen Brown want to be there?" replied Lowe.

  There were reports that Boston's initial astronomical asking price for Brown scared off several teams.

• LeBron James Only Considering A 'Handful' Of Teams, Not In Any Rush To Make Decision

  LeBron James is only considering signing with a "handful" of teams, including the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and Minnesota Timberwolves, according to Chris Haynes.

  Haynes added that James has no plans to take pitch meetings with those teams and will let agent Rich Paul handle that part of the negotiations.

  "Rich Paul is doing all the background work. He's talking with teams, and then he in return will relay all the intel and data to LeBron James, in which LeBron will make a decision. So there will be no meetings, no pitches that will allow teams to sit down with LeBron," said Haynes.

  Haynes then reiterated that James is in no rush to make a decision.

  It was reported over the weekend that there was a "growing belief" that James would eventually return to the Cavs.

• Brad Stevens Explains Reasoning Behind Celtics' Jaylen Brown Trade

  Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said Monday the team traded Jaylen Brown to boost roster flexibility and add draft capital, calling the franchise's forward path "more challenging" than in recent seasons.

  Stevens and team owner Bill Chisholm addressed reporters in Boston to discuss the trade, which sent Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George and four draft picks.

  "When I looked at our team and where the league was heading, looked at the way that we've finished the last couple years and at the unbelievable way we've played in the regular season in the last couple years, the path looked a little bit more challenging to me," said Stevens. "I might be wrong. I'm not going to stand up here and be defensive about that, but the path looked a little bit more challenging with 70% of our cap and such a high percent of our usage tied into two players [Brown and Jayson Tatum].

  "The reality in this day and age at the NBA... you have to do a great job of building out depth that can hopefully replace the irreplaceable individual."

  Brown, a five-time All-Star and 2024 Finals MVP, was drafted third overall by Boston in 2016. He averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season while Tatum recovered from a torn Achilles.

  Boston previously pursued a trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo before he was dealt to the Miami Heat, leaving Brown's future uncertain for weeks.

  Chisholm denied the move was financially motivated.

  "No, absolutely not," said Chisholm. "This was all about basically trying to win. Really trusting in our process. I think we have the best front office in the NBA, and they put in their work and they came to the conclusion this was the best way for us to win."

  Boston also agreed to a three-year, $47 million deal with center Mitchell Robinson and re-signed Neemias Queta to a four-year, $56 million extension.

• Celtics Initial High Asking Price Scared Off Teams Interested In Trading For Jaylen Brown

  The Boston Celtics had no contingency plan after failing to acquire Giannis Antetokounmpo. Boston then pursued an aggressive trade market for Jaylen Brown, reportedly seeking four unprotected first-round picks, a demand that ultimately drove potential trade partners away.

  Multiple executives said the steep asking price backfired on the Celtics as the trade market cooled.

  "The asking price for Brown was so high that teams got scared away and moved on to other business," said an executive from a team that held brief discussions with Boston. "There was no need to circle back."

  Several teams interested in Brown made other significant moves while Boston waited for a stronger offer to emerge.

  The Celtics had initially targeted Antetokounmpo, engaging the Milwaukee Bucks in trade talks before finishing as runner-up to the Miami Heat. Boston reportedly refused to include young prospects Baylor Scheierman and Hugo Gonzalez in its offer, which centered on Brown and two first-round picks.

  After missing on Antetokounmpo, the Celtics broadened their search across the league, continuing to push for an aggressive package in return for Brown. That approach discouraged teams from staying engaged in negotiations.

  Boston ultimately traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers on July 1 for Paul George, one unprotected first-round pick, an additional first-round selection or swap, and two second-round picks.

  Brown, a five-time All-Star, averaged career highs of 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists last season.

• LeBron James' Free Agency Suitors Haven't Heard Anything

  LeBron James is nearly a week into his free agency and there have been little tangible indictors with where he is at regards to his decision. When the decision by James to leave the Los Angeles Lakers was revealed, he was most closely tied to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat. The list has now expanded to include the Denver Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

  The teams involved in the pursuit of James are believed to know no additional details from James and Rich Paul than what has been released publicly.

  James followed a similar pattern during his free agencies in 2010, 2014 and 2018 where he kept his decision-making private until he notified his next team that he would sign.

  "But the last I heard, the teams had not heard anything," said ESPN's Brian Windhorst on the Hoop Collective. "The teams were interested in LeBron-like, they had, they had made contact and whatever-and they hadn't heard anything. And they're like, 'Well, we don't know what to make of it.' And this is what happened with the previous LeBron free agency when he switched teams.

  "They didn't know. LeBron called in and was basically like, 'Yep, I'm coming.' And they're like, 'Oh, okay.' Like, it wasn't like-maybe they, maybe they felt good. Like they said, 'Oh, I think the vibe is good.' But like, the Heat didn't know he was coming. The Cavs didn't know he was coming back."

• Cavaliers, Warriors, Sixers, Heat, Wolves, Nuggets All Believe They Can Sign LeBron James

  Free agent forward LeBron James hasn't made a decision about where he'll play next season. We know it won't be with the Los Angeles Lakers. James' agent Rich Paul said 27 of the other 29 teams have reached out. Of those 27 teams, six believe they have a real shot at landing the NBA's all-time leading scorer for next season.

  The Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors have been mentioned as landing spots for James, since before he announced he was moving on from the Lakers. The Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets all believe they are still in the running for the superstar forward's services for the 2026-27 season.

  All six of those teams are likely offering James the opportunity to compete for a title, but he might have to play on a veteran minimum contract for next season. The Cavaliers and Warriors still have moves they can make to free up spending power to offer James a contract for greater than the minimum. The other four teams would have to do something unexpected.

• Jayson Tatum Breaks Silence On Jaylen Brown Trade

  Jayson Tatum publicly acknowledged Jaylen Brown's departure Friday, sharing an Instagram tribute two days after the Boston Celtics dealt his longtime running mate to the Philadelphia 76ers.

  The trade sent Brown to Philadelphia in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks. The deal ended a nine-year on-court pairing between Tatum and Brown.

  Tatum posted a photo of the two players together, reflecting on their shared history in Boston.

  "9 years! Forever grateful for all that we accomplished together, for pushing me to be a better player," wrote Tatum. "From first round exits to winning a champ together and respect for you as a player and as a person. Looking forward to see how you attack this next chapter of your career and wish nothing but the best for you! Continue to be special!"

  Brown had already addressed the trade publicly Thursday night, speaking on a livestream without referencing Tatum by name.

  "The message was received," said Brown, on his stream. "I wasn't thrilled with the amount of respect that was shown throughout this process. I think there was a bit of lack of respect. I think it was fine at one point, then out of nowhere, things just went left. I think Brad (Stevens) is getting a lot of the criticism. I wasn't thrilled with the way he facilitated some of the conversations.

  "I definitely think there's more to it. I just wish that the more to it could've been explained to me. Because I think if the more to it was explained that I would've understood. I thought I earned respect to get that explanation. But hey, obviously, I was wrong. That's life. You move on."

  Celtics president Brad Stevens and owner Bill Chisholm are set to discuss the trade publicly on Monday.