NBA notes: Garnett, Pierce to be traded to Nets

Two-thirds of the Celtics' former Big Three soon will be Brooklyn-bound.

In a blockbuster move that would shake up the Eastern Conference landscape, the Nets agreed to a deal that would land Celtics veterans Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce.

The complex deal, which picked up considerable steam throughout the day, was apparently hung up for a time by Garnett, who had to decide if he wanted to waive his no-trade clause to team up with Pierce in Brooklyn under new Nets coach Jason Kidd.

ESPN.com reported that Garnett decided by late Thursday evening to consent to the trade.

Yahoo! Sports reported that the deal would have the Nets trading Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Tornike Shengelia, Reggie Evans, Keith Bogans and three first-round picks scattered over the next five years. Bogans reportedly would be included as part of a sign-and-trade agreement and the Nets would receive Garnett, Pierce and guard Jason Terry.

The deal couldn't become official until July 10, when the NBA's moratorium on player transactions is waived. The Nets reportedly would send their first-round picks in 2014, 2016 and 2018 to Boston, helping the Celtics in their full-blown rebuilding efforts.

Report: Sixers tab Spurs assistant

The Philadelphia 76ers will hire San Antonio Spurs assistant Brett Brown as their new coach, according to a New York Daily News report.

Brown has been an assistant under Spurs coach Gregg Popovich for the past seven seasons, and previously served as San Antonio's player development coach.

Brown becomes the second Spurs assistant to land a head coaching job this offseason, joining Mike Budenholzer, who now leads the Atlanta Hawks.

Brown replaces Doug Collins, who stepped down after three seasons as the 76ers' coach.

Bird has plan to take Pacers to next level

Larry Bird is bringing a new perspective to the Pacers.

After watching from afar as the team he rebuilt reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in nine years and came within one victory of dethroning NBA champion Miami, Bird thinks he has a pretty good idea what it will take to lead Indiana to its first league title.

"My dreams, my goals are set pretty high," he said after being reintroduced as the team's president of basketball operations Thursday. "I know how hard it is to win a championship. It's tough. But when you have guys who stick together, who play together, who share the basketball and care about one another, it's a hell of a start."

It didn't take Bird long to provide a glimpse of what might be different this time around.

While he concurred with his successor and predecessor Donnie Walsh and general manager Kevin Pritchard that the team's top offseason priority is to re-sign free agent David West — the power forward Bird signed two years ago to toughen up the team — the blunt-talking Bird explained he's ready to improve the team's bench play.