Josh Richardson

The 76ers were swept 4-0 by rivals the Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs after Sunday's 110-106 loss in Orlando, Florida.

Afterwards, attention turned to Brown, who is reportedly facing an exit, with championship hopefuls Philadelphia set to make a final decision soon.

Brown was appointed in 2013 and he has overseen three consecutive trips to the postseason since 2017-18, including two Conference semi-final appearances.

But Richardson – who joined the 76ers as part of the deal that saw All-Star Jimmy Butler move to the Miami Heat in the offseason – was forthright in his assessment of the 59-year-old.

"He's a good guy," Richardson said via video conference post-game. "He's a good man. He means well.

"I just think going forward, we've just gotta have some more accountability. I don't think there was much accountability this season and I think that was part of our problem."

Richardson, whose 76ers only qualified for the playoffs as the sixth seeds, added: "It just has to start. There's always gotta be a day one. We've just gotta start from scratch. It's not gonna be easy and we're not gonna be comfortable, but that's what championship teams do.

"[When] guys are not doing their job on or off the court, there's gotta be some kind of consequence — not consequence, but we've gotta be able to talk to each other and listen. 

"And not [just] listen to say something back, but actually hear [each other]. It's a hard lesson to learn for some people, but in order for us to make this playoff run that I think we all want, I know we all want, it's gotta start."

The 76ers were forced to face the Celtics without All-Star guard Ben Simmons due to injury.

Injuries have often hampered Brown and Philadelphia – Simmons, fellow All-Star Joel Embiid and former number one pick Markelle Fultz, now with the Orlando Magic, among others spending time on the sidelines.

Brown lamented the injuries, telling reporters: "Missing Ben will resonate for a long time, especially given what he did to prepare himself to play in the [bubble]. The difficulty of guarding the Celtics' wings [that] you live every time you play them is they've got so much firepower, and you really need to have a stable of able, senior, veteran-type mentality defensive players on a bunch of really good scorers. And I will think of [not having Simmons].

"Obviously, the way our season ended is disappointing. You can't, obviously, phrase it any other way. But really trying to guard those wings was difficult."

Horford and Richardson only joined the 76ers at the start of the 2019-20 season, but the pair are reportedly moving to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Dallas Mavericks respectively.

According to ESPN, the 76ers traded Horford, the 34th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, a protected 2025 first-round pick and the draft rights to Vasilije Micic in exchange for three-time champion Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson.

Horford signed a lucrative four-year, $109million contract with the 76ers as a free agent following his time as a Boston Celtic but the experiment involving the five-time All-Star proved to be an expensive mistake.

The 34-year-old big man failed to combine with Joel Embiid in Philadelphia, where he was eventually demoted from the starting five, having averaged 11.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game, as the 76ers were swept in the first round of the playoffs.

Philadelphia receive Green following his championship-winning run with the Los Angeles Lakers, who traded the former Toronto Raptors star for Oklahoma City's Dennis Schroder, while Horford's departure creates cap space amid links with Houston Rockets superstar James Harden.

Green, who won back-to-back titles with the Raptors and Lakers, averaged 8.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game in his sole season in Los Angeles.

It was Morey's first move since ending his 13-year tenure as Rockets general manager before joining head coach Doc Rivers – who replaced Brett Brown – in Philadelphia, where the 76ers remain committed to building around All-Star duo Embiid and Ben Simmons.

On the same day as the 2020 NBA Draft, which saw the 76ers select Tyrese Maxey with the 21st pick on Wednesday, Morey also reportedly dealt Richardson.

ESPN reports the 76ers acquired the Mavericks' Seth Curry for Richardson and pick 36.

Richardson swapped the Miami Heat for the 76ers following Jimmy Butler's sign-and-trade deal, though he only showed glimpses as Philadelphia struggled to gel throughout the season.

In 2019-20, Richardson averaged 13.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, while Curry averaged 12.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists for the Mavericks last season.

Simmons has refused to play for the Sixers this season after coach Doc Rivers and center Joel Embiid were critical of his performances in the Eastern Conference semifinals loss to the Atlanta Hawks last season. 

Philadelphia had been trying to trade the fifth-year guard/forward ever since, but the former Rookie of the Year's value plummeted after he came up short against the Hawks. 

However, according to multiple reports a deal was finally struck to send Simmons to Brooklyn in exchange for the 2018 NBA MVP Harden. Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, an unprotected 2022 first-round pick and a protected 2027 first-round pick were also sent to the Nets, with Paul Millsap going in the opposite direction. 

Harden can become a free agent in the offseason, while Simmons is under contract until 2025 after signing a five-year, $177.2million deal in 2019.

While the 76ers seemingly boosted their chances of contending by adding Harden, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors remained idle. However, there were still plenty of other deals reported on Thursday.

Mavericks move on from Porzingis

The Luka Doncic-Kristaps Porzingis era is over in Dallas.

The Mavs sent Porzingis and a second-round pick to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans.

Injuries have continued to trouble the 7ft 3in center, who averaged 20 points and 8.8 rebounds per game in two and a half seasons in Dallas.

Kings trade Bagley, Bucks get Ibaka 

The Sacramento Kings made Marvin Bagley III the second overall pick in the 2018 draft but brought an end to his time in California as part of a seven-player, four-team trade. 

Bagley was sent to the Detroit Pistons, with Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles going to Sacramento. The Kings also received Donte DiVincenzo from the Milwaukee Bucks, who swapped Serge Ibaka for Semi Ojeleye and Rodney Hood. The reigning NBA champions also received two future second-round picks and cash considerations. 

Bagley has started just 17 games for Sacramento this season, averaging 9.3 points and 7.2 rebounds in 21.9 minutes per game.

Celtics bring Theis back, send Schroder to Houston

Daniel Theis is back for a second spell with the Boston Celtics.

Less than a year after he was traded to the Chicago Bulls by the Celtics, Theis was brought back from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Dennis Schroder, Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando. Freedom is expected to be waived by the Rockets, though.

Boston also sent Bol Bol and PJ Dozier, who are both out for the season, to the Orlando Magic and offloaded Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford to the San Antonio Spurs. The Celtics' brought in Derrick White.

Elsewhere...

Goran Dragic's time with the Toronto Raptors is up after he was traded to the Spurs for Thaddeus Young, Drew Eubanks – whom they were set to waive – and a 2022 lottery-protected first-round pick. Dragic is expected to be bought out, with the Chicago Bulls, Mavs, Bucks, Warriors, Nets and Clippers all credited with an interest.

The Charlotte Hornets added Montrezl Harrel from the Wizards. Ish Smith and Vernon Carey Jr went the other way. 

Torrey Craig is back with the Phoenix Suns following a deal that saw Jalen Smith land with the Indiana Pacers. Aaron Holiday was also acquired from the Wizards.