Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey credited a philosophy developed during his years with the Cleveland Cavaliers for helping the franchise ultimately land Jaylen Brown in a trade with the Boston Celtics.

Gansey said the approach traces back to his time as Cleveland's general manager, when Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert would routinely press him and his staff on whether they had exhausted every possible avenue in pursuing a target.

"There were some trades that we've done that were two years in the making, simply because we kept calling," said Gansey. "We kept checking in, and in the end we came away with that person. It didn't always work, but we always wanted to make sure we did the work."

The mindset shaped Philadelphia's approach to pursuing a trade for Brown. The Sixers knew they were not among the first teams on Boston's radar as trade talks developed, but continued reaching out regardless. Sources also indicated the Celtics' preferred path involved moving Brown as part of a broader effort to pursue Giannis Antetokounmpo, yet Philadelphia maintained contact throughout.

When Boston lost out on Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat, the dynamics shifted for Philadelphia. Brown's name had already surfaced publicly in trade discussions, reaching a point where Boston felt compelled to move him. Even at that stage, sources said Philadelphia viewed itself as a long shot, given the conventional expectation that Boston would prefer trading an All-NBA-caliber player to a Western Conference team rather than a divisional rival.

As Brown's trade market softened, the Sixers remained engaged and ultimately decided not to lose out on the deal over Los Angeles Clippers' 2028 first-round pick.

"The process in talking to Boston about Jaylen took a couple of weeks," said Gansey. "We let them know we were interested and then just kind of went from there. We just kind of stayed in the mix, and the next thing you know, we were at the five-yard line. We just kept banging the drum and expressing interest."

The trade for Brown ultimately became the foundation for Philadelphia's subsequent pursuit of LeBron James, setting the stage for one of the most significant offseasons in franchise history.