The 76ers wanted Elton Brand, but didn't think they could get him. They weren't even sure he would opt out of the final year of his contract until he announced he would on June 30. Ten days later, Brand, wearing a suit and joined by his wife and mother, was introduced to the Philadelphia media at a news conference at the Hall of Fame room of the Wachovia Center.

How did it happen? The starting point was the dissatisfaction at what Brand and agent David Falk termed the Clippers' "ultimatum" offer of $70 million over five years when L.A. was capable of offering more because Brand was its free agent. That led to Falk making some phone calls and getting a $90 million offer from the Warriors within 30 minutes. He also talked to Sixers president Ed Stefanski, who asked Falk to keep the Sixers in mind.

With Brand, who is from Westchester County, N.Y., and wife Shahara due to have their first child this fall, the couple had been interested in moving back to the East Coast. As an unrestricted free agent, Brand had the ability to go wherever he chose to.

Once Falk told Stefanski that Brand was interested but needed more money than the $66.7 million the Sixers could offer, Stefanski found a team (the Timberwolves) that was willing to take two players and $2.8 million in salary, which allowed him to bump the offer to $82.9 million, Brand accepted.

"They gave everything they could," said Brand, a two-time All-Star. "Another team I passed on (the Clippers) didn't come close to that."

In Brand, the Sixers fill their biggest need with a reliable nine-year pro who has career averages of 20.3 points and 10.2 rebounds. While he missed the first 74 games last season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, the 29-year-old Brand was thoroughly checked out by the Sixers' medical staff and pronounced fine.

"He will be perfect for us," Stefanski said. "This is the prototype power forward. Both sides had to sacrifice here. Elton had to take a deal with us that might not have been as lucrative as other places he might not have been able to. We went to the max. We had to make a few moves in a trade to get there."

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