Projected 76ers lineup after trading for Jaylen Brown

In one of the most shocking trades in recent NBA history, the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Jaylen Brown and sent Paul George and draft capital to the Boston Celtics. Yes, the 76ers acquired Brown, a five-time All-Star who won a Finals MVP with Boston just a couple of years ago, from the Celtics, their arch-rivals, in a deal absolutely nobody saw coming. A Brown trade was plausible, but to Philly?

This is a pretty clear home run deal for the Sixers. Say what you want about Brown, but he's an obvious upgrade over Paul George (who, to his credit, did play very well after returning from his suspension), and it's not like they had to trade a haul of draft picks either. Here's a look at what their lineup and depth chart look like for the upcoming season.

Projected Philadelphia 76ers lineup and depth chart with Jaylen Brown

The Sixers' starting lineup is as good as anyone's when healthy. We already know how good the duo of Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid is, and VJ Edgecombe looked like a budding star as a rookie. Dean Wade is a perfect complementary player, as he can space the floor, defend, and rebound a little bit too. Brown elevates the floor and ceiling of this lineup a lot more than Paul George did.

While he might not be the most consistent shooter from three-point range, Brown is a terrific perimeter defender, and he adds another shot creator to the starting five. George is a better shooter and offers a bit more size, but that's about all he has over Brown, who, again, is pretty clearly a far superior all-around talent. He just finished sixth in the MVP balloting and is in the middle of his prime, for crying out loud.

What's interesting about this Sixers team is its depth, or lack thereof. Labaron Philon Jr. is a talented rookie whom the Sixers stole late in the first round, but he's also just a rookie, and the depth in the frontcourt is rather thin. Dean Wade isn't the biggest of forwards, and Joel Embiid has an enormously substantial injury history. Their reserve bigs being the likes of Dominick Barlow, Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti, can't have Sixers fans feeling too confident. That doesn't mean the deal wasn't a worthwhile one, though.

Sixers take worthwhile swing in effort to win now

While this trade is a home run on paper, that doesn't mean it doesn't come without risk. The Sixers traded what could prove to be valuable draft capital and George to acquire Brown, a player making a boatload of money and who will almost certainly be commanding an extension to give him even more money.

With limited assets and payroll to improve the roster further, this is it for a little while. The Sixers can, and presumably will, sign veterans to minimum deals to improve their bench, but they've all but locked themselves into this starting five.

Still, Brown is a tremendous player, and the Sixers have as much talent as any team in the Eastern Conference thanks to his arrival. As a player who has appeared in at least 63 games in each of the last five seasons, he's bound to raise the floor of this group, which, given Embiid's injury history, was lower than you'd like it to be, and he helps raise the ceiling too. Brown gives the Sixers a player who can help carry them in games Embiid is unable to play, which, in the postseason, could prove to be very valuable. A trio of Brown, Maxey and Edgecombe will be hard for any team to beat, even without Embiid.

At the end of the day, the Sixers upgraded and gave themselves a legitimate path to title contention. If it fails, and it very well could, it's not as if a couple of first- and second-rounders will set them back too much, making this a worthwhile move to make.

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