If the 76ers win the NBA championship in the next couple of years, it will be the Celtics’ fault, and other thoughts

Picked-up pieces while waiting for Monday’s trade deadline …

⋅ LeBron James joining the Philadelphia 76ers is the biggest professional sports story of America’s summer.

And once again … it’s all about us.

Truly. It’s painfully clear that James would not have joined the Sixers if the Celtics hadn’t traded Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia.

Forty-one-year-old LeBron could have joined any team he wanted. It’s not about the money for him anymore; this is about his legacy. It’s about winning in a mega NBA market that hasn’t tasted champagne since Moses Malone and Julius Erving roamed the hardwood at the old Spectrum way back in 1983.

LeBron wants to win in his fourth city, and Philly would not have been a destination for him if 29-year-old Brown weren’t waiting in the wings. The Joel Embiid-Tyrese Maxey-VJ Edgecombe Sixers were routed by the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The series was a joke, and the 76ers weren’t going anywhere in 2026-27 with the oft-injured Embiid and his returning cast.

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But now they have Brown. And LeBron. Suddenly they have a star-laden starting five better than any in the league. If Embiid stays healthy, they have a chance at a championship.

All thanks to Brad Stevens and the Celtics.

I’m absolutely loving this, and haven’t been this geeked about an upcoming NBA season since 1985, when Red Auerbach added Bill Walton and Jerry Sichting to a Celtics team that had just gone 63-19.

In this spirit, I can’t wait for the NBA’s schedule release in mid-August. The Celtics will play the 76ers four times in 2026-27, then hopefully meet in a playoff rematch. With LeBron, the Philly-at-Boston games will be like Peyton Manning coming to Foxborough vs. Tom Brady, or Roger Clemens starting playoff games at Fenway Park for the Yankees.

Even Celtics-76ers preseason games will be must-watch. LeBron comes to Boston Oct. 10, and the Celtics play an exhibition in Philly Oct. 16.

The mere thought of LeBron at the Garden in a 76ers uniform keeps me awake at night. I was there in 2008 when a young James willed an ordinary Cavaliers team to a conference semifinal Game 7 against the Garnett-Pierce-Allen world champion Celtics. Paul Pierce scored 41 points in the Celtics’ victory, while James had a majestic 45 in a 5-point loss.

LeBron had his revenge at the Garden four years later in a 45-point, 15-rebound, Game 6 tour de force that sent the Heat and Celtics back to Miami for a Game 7 that was won by Miami. It was one of the greatest individual performances by a visitor on Boston’s parquet floor.

And now the NBA’s ancient warrior is wearing the uniform that Wilt Chamberlain wore when he dueled Bill Russell in the 1960s. Too good.

James’s “decision” heaps new pressure on a Celtics franchise still reeling from the curious Brown giveaway for 36-year-old Paul George and some draft picks. LeBron-to-Philly adds a whole new layer of bad to the Brown deal. We’ll be eyeballing the Atlantic Division standings as early as November.

If the LeBron Sixers win a championship, Philly’s banner will be Boston’s fault, and the Brown trade will take its rightful place on the medal podium of local bonehead deals — Babe Ruth to the Yankees, and Mookie Betts to the Dodgers — with Bill Chisholm and Stevens joining Harry Frazee, John Henry, and Chaim Bloom in New England sports infamy. Henry also owns the Globe.

It’ll be Boston’s fault.

⋅ Quiz: 1. Name five Hall of Fame pitchers with more than 100 wins and more than 100 saves; 2. Curtis Mead was assigned Tony Conigliaro’s No. 25. Name two Red Sox who wore No. 25 when they were MVP of a Sox World Series win this century (answers below).

⋅ On June 30, when the Red Sox were 37-47, I got this unsolicited text from Alex Cora: “Get hot for 10 days … They need more than that but this is their window. Nationals, Angels, White Sox, Mets. With the way they pitch they can get close to .500 by the end of this stretch.” The Sox lost to the Nationals the day after the text was sent, then ripped off 15 in a row, sweeping the Angels, White Sox, and Mets. Now there’s a man who knows his team.

⋅ Why do I suspect Robert Kraft isn’t telling the whole story when he says the Patriots have offered to make Christian Gonzalez the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history, and the highest-paid player in franchise history? Is MAGA Bob talking about guaranteed dollars? And doesn’t he realize that fans know new contracts to top players always become the new standard? Would we be impressed if Stevens told us the Celtics are paying Jordan Walsh more than Bill Russell ever made? What is the upside of trying to make your own player look greedy?

⋅ Not a fan of trading Connelly Early for Mead. And this has nothing to do with the bad luck of Mead sustaining a fractured wrist (Vern Ruhle, anybody?) in his second plate appearance with the Red Sox. We all understand the Sox’ need for righthanded power, but unless Mead becomes an everyday second baseman who can hit 25 home runs every year, the Sox simply didn’t get enough for a 24-year-old lefthanded starting pitcher who took the ball for their most important start of their season last October. In 21 starts over two seasons, Early went 8-7 with a 3.24 ERA. His elbow barked this year, but Early is smart, West Point-disciplined, and his Washington boss, Paul Toboni, is a bright talent who spent a decade with the Sox and knows exactly what he’s getting.

The plate-crowding/pull-happy Mead has 17 homers this year, but he’s 25, was designated for assignment by the White Sox, has already been traded three times, and wears more armor than Matt Damon in “The Odyssey.” Mead presents as a typical Red Sox journeyman, 4-A player.

Now that he’s hurt, the Sox will go into the offseason not knowing what they have in Mead. Is he another Vaughn Grissom? The whole deal feels like another case of the Sox working the edges and trying to show they are smarter than everybody else.

⋅ If the season ended today, the Astros’ Yordan Alvarez would win the American League’s Triple Crown (.321, 35 HRs, 80 RBIs going into Thursday).

⋅ While in the Baseball Hall of Fame’s plaque gallery last Saturday, I made it a point to seek out new inductee Jeff Kent, who never got more than 46.5 percent on the BBWAA’s ballot (75 percent is required for admission) but was voted in by a small committee of his peers last winter. I’ve been a Hall of Fame voter since 1988 and have always applied a “nothing shady” standard when it comes time for the ballot. In 2022 and ’23, I voted for Kent only, which was not popular. “Jeff Kent might not be the hill you want to die on,” suggested Theo Epstein.

⋅ Epstein isn’t eligible to get a plaque in the Hall until he’s at least 65 years old. A curse-buster with the Red Sox and Cubs, the 52-year-old Epstein is a lock for Cooperstown. There are 23 managers and 40 pioneers/executives with plaques in the Hall. Sad to report that I’m not feeling much love for the late Larry Lucchino or Camden Yards architect (and rebuilder of Fenway and Dodger Stadium) Janet Marie Smith regarding their chances to appear on the 2026-27 Era Committee ballot for Cooperstown consideration.

A ballot of eight former managers, umpires, and executives will be announced in November, and a Hall panel of 16 will vote on the candidates and announce their findings at the Winter Meetings in early December. Look for Dusty Baker and Bruce Bochy to appear on the ballot, maybe umpire Joe West, and two or three executives. Regarding the 2027 class of players, Buster Posey is favored to gain election on the next BBWAA ballot, and Jon Lester has a chance.

⋅ From Wade Boggs: “You want to teach young kids how to hit? Tell them to go with their friends, find an empty field — there are plenty of ’em these days — and play Wiffle ball all day.”

⋅ How many of you have noticed that NCAA president Charlie Baker looks like Roger Goodell? Bumped into the former governor a few weeks back in D.C., and he has some rather hilarious tales of being mistaken for the NFL commissioner while in the vicinity of angry Patriots fans. Can you imagine growing up in Needham, playing at Harvard, running Massachusetts, then being blamed for Deflategate by Patriots Nation?

⋅ One of my great readers had the best comment on the new Gordie Howe Bridge, which connects Detroit to Windsor, Ontario, and opened just last week: “The Gordie Howe Bridge hat trick is: 1. veering from lane to lane; 2. brake-checking 18-wheelers; 3. stopping to get out and fight another driver.” Nice. Why can’t the Globe get writers like that?

⋅ Bob Cousy, who turns 98 a week from Sunday, called before the beginning of the World Cup final and wanted to talk soccer. Cooz, you no doubt forgot, was commissioner of the ill-fated American Soccer League from 1974-79. “I had six owners, none of whom spoke English,” remembered the Houdini of the Hardwood. “We were struggling. I had suggestions to produce more scoring, and that was flatly rejected by all of them. I will admit that soccer has come a long way since that time, particularly on the amateur level. This great reception for the game has been surprising to me. I’ll be interested to see if America accepts soccer six weeks from now. I guess it’s a beautiful game, but I won’t be watching the final this afternoon.” According to AI, “Cousy was dismissed as commissioner because he lacked deep familiarity with soccer.”

⋅ Anybody else still wondering why England didn’t mark Lionel Messi in the final minutes of their World Cup semifinal?

⋅ If you are a soccer and/or “Ted Lasso” fan, check out El Paso Locomotive PC of the United Soccer League where Christo Fernandez — who played upbeat, ever-hopeful Dani Rojas on Apple TV’s favorite fictional soccer team — is a center-forward, wearing No. 91. The native of Mexico played professionally as a teen before a knee injury motivated him to become an actor. He was a fun character on “Lasso.” Now he’s a 35-year-old fledgling player in the USL.

⋅ Best wishes to Topsfield’s Pat Yanchus, Mike Yastrzemski’s high school baseball coach at St. John’s Prep.

⋅ In a USA Today WNBA power rankings feature, the publication selected the all-time best player for each of the league’s 15 current franchises. Some of the all-time greats included Maya Moore (Minnesota), Lisa Leslie (Los Angeles), Candace Parker (Chicago), Breanna Stewart (New York), and Diana Taurasi (Phoenix). Golden State’s designated greatest ever is none other than Newton South’s Veronica Burton, daughter of WBZ’s Steve Burton and the granddaughter of first-ever Patriots draft pick, the late Ron Burton.

⋅ Proud of Hull’s distinction as site of the first night baseball game, folks in the town invite all to join them for a boat trip from Hull to Boston (for Red Sox vs. Athletics) and back on Aug. 9. For information, call 508-654-1997.

⋅ Kudos to the Krafts for “Kick(gl)ass: Women in Football,” an expansive exhibit that will be on display at the Patriots Hall of Fame between now and the end of the NFL playoffs. Among many women’s contributions to professional football, the exhibit celebrates the history of the Boston Renegades and other local women’s pro football teams, while recognizing an evolving landscape where 23 states across the country now sanction girls’ flag football championships. Boston College grad Dr. Jen Welter, a onetime assistant coach of the Arizona Cardinals, is founder/executive producer of the exhibit, and the organization’s managing director is former longtime TD Garden employee Laurie Miller Voke.

⋅ Quiz answers: 1. Dennis Eckersley (197 wins, 390 saves), Rollie Fingers (114, 341), Rich Gossage (124, 310), John Smoltz (213, 154), Hoyt Wilhelm (143, 228); 2. Mike Lowell (2007), Steve Pearce (2018).