Philly can officially put the A.I. era to rest and welcome the new E.B. age next season.

You read it, Elton Brand ended his script in L.A. and signed a whopping five-year $79.795 million contract to join the up and coming Philadelphia 76ers team. Yep, Brand will definitely improve the 76ers frontcourt and with a guy like Andre Iguodala by his side, things are looking up again since Allen Iverson left for Denver.

Of course, the move makes the 76ers instant contenders in the Eastern Conference once the new 2008-09 NBA basketball season starts in October. And to think they almost got it done against the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs WITHOUT a player of Brand’s caliber, Philly should now be an even stronger team once the season starts all over again.

Elton Brand and the Philadelphia 76ers made it official Wednesday, ending the anticipation of a dream tandem between Brand and Baron Davis in Los Angeles, a tandem that could probably lift the Clippers from the shadow of LA’s premiere team, the Lakers.

With Brand singing with Philly, the Los Angeles Clippers should still be happy about the fact that they pulled a deal that landed them a Baron Davis before they lost their entire frontcourt.

But then again, Baron Davis has a knack for sitting out most of the games played in an entire season. They should’ve just concentrated on keeping Brand in L.A. instead of landing yet another guard in their roster.

Brand wanted to stay with the Clippers but after his agent David Falk received a ‘’take it or leave it'’ contract from the team, everything changed. The said contract was nearly $20 million less than what Brand received from the 76ers.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine why Brand signed with a new team.

Who will win the 2009 NBA Finals? Bodog sportsbook has the EARLY odds.

Boston Celtics 4.00

Los Angeles Lakers 4.50

Detroit Pistons 9.00

San Antonio Spurs 9.00

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Elton Brand Philadelphia 76ers