Photo: Peter Baba

The Philadelphia 76ers’ trade for All-Star forward Jaylen Brown caught several players off guard, with some initially fearing they were the ones being moved.

Rookie VJ Edgecombe recalled receiving repeated calls from executive vice president of basketball operations Jameer Nelson before finally answering, convinced something unexpected had happened.

“I was like, ‘Man, it’s free agency, why you calling me so much?’” Edgecombe said. “I thought I was gone.”

Justin Edwards was equally shocked when he came across the news. At first, he ignored the reports linking Brown and Paul George, but after taking another look, he realized the deal had actually happened.

“They were talking about Jaylen Brown and PG, (Paul George) but I didn’t pay attention to it,” Edwards said.

“I [saw] it, but I looked away. Then I looked again. I’m like, ‘Oh, snap!’ So I called ’Rese (Tyrese Maxey) and he was like, ‘Yeah, man, I knew since this morning.’ I’m like, ‘That’s crazy.’”

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