Jaylen Brown’s representative has dismissed a report that the Philadelphia 76ers forward demanded a trade from the Boston Celtics, calling it “10000% a lie.”
The Celtics traded Brown to Philadelphia this offseason in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks (2028, 2031) and two second-round selections (2028, 2030).
Denial of a Milwaukee request
On Monday, former NBA player and NBC Sports Boston analyst Brian Scalabrine said Brown had requested a trade from Boston, presented a list of demands and was “rooting to be traded to Milwaukee.”
Brown’s representative rejected that account. Brown never requested a trade to the Bucks, the representative said. After a deal centred on Giannis Antetokounmpo fell through during the offseason, and Boston informed Brown he would be traded regardless, his only request was to have input on his destination.
According to the representative, the only other request Brown made to the Celtics while in Boston was that he and Jayson Tatum be treated equally.
Scalabrine backtracks
Scalabrine walked back his comments ahead of Boston’s home game against the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. He said Brown did not “technically demand to be traded”, but he reiterated that Brown arrived in Boston with a list of demands.
“I don’t know what the ultimatum was or the demands or whatever it was,” Scalabrine said. “So technically, he did not demand to be traded. It was, ‘Do these things right here or else.’ And one of them might have been, ‘Give me the $140 million extension.’
“I haven’t gotten to the bottom of all that. I didn’t even know this was going to be a thing. It’s one of those things that lived in my mind for months. I finally used it because we were talking about the weirdest stuff, and now it’s out there.”
Brown and Tatum trade barbs
The report landed amid a public exchange between the two former teammates. Brown created a stir on social media by posting a blue hat emoji, a symbol for “cap” or lying, on Instagram in response to Tatum saying in a YouTube video that he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” by the trade.
Tatum responded a day later. “There’s no beef. It’s not about that. It should be more praise,” he said. “I understand drama gets clicks and views, but I’m not really into that. I’m not blaming everybody for how they feel. Everybody is entitled to their own feelings, and we all go through different things in our lives.”
Two days later, Brown struck a different tone. He insisted there was “no beef” between them but added that there “might be a little lamb chops and some gravy.” He also repeated that Tatum had a “hell of a PR team” and said, “He should stay ready at all times.”
Brown declined to explain why he posted the cap emoji, saying instead that he and Tatum were focused on what lies ahead. Tatum said he would welcome a conversation to resolve the issue. When asked whether he would be open to one, Brown appeared disinterested.
“We both got so much stuff in front of us,” Brown said. “So at the end of the day … he got to do what he’s got to do for his team. I got to do what I do for my team.
“Jayson’s a great guy. Like I said, great family, hell of a basketball player, hell of a PR team. There’s no beef, but it’ll be a little lamb chop.”
A successful partnership
Brown and Tatum spent nine seasons together in Boston. Both were the No. 3 overall draft picks, Brown in 2016 and Tatum a year later. Together, they formed one of the most successful pairings of their era, guiding the Celtics to five Eastern Conference finals appearances, two NBA Finals trips and a championship win over the Dallas Mavericks in 2024.