Brand must really like the Sixers chances, since if I recall correctly he passed up more money from the Warriors. The Warriors really could have used him, with Baron Davis leaving.

I don't see the Sixers becoming part of the elite teams in the East, although they should improve. This is moderately significant, but not a completely huge NBA offseason headline.

This really is a big deal. If Brand really is fully recovered from injury (he played well in a few games at the end of the season, a late Brand pickup helped me win my fantasy league), the Sixers could be a legitimate force in the East, as long as they match any team's offer for Iguodala, who is a restricted free agent.

Clippers fans must constantly feel like they are getting crapped on. They manage to sign Baron Davis, thinking that a core of Brand, Davis and Kaman could make them pretty good, and then Brand leaves town.

In my little sports world, this is a HUGE story.  This is the most significant free agent signing that my Sixers have made since Moses in '82, and we all know how that turned out.  The fact that Brand, a good guy and a hardworker, is joining a very young and overachieving squad of good guys who are also hard workers, makes this a very easy team for me to get behind.  I can't wait for hoops season.