In the three days following the Boston Celtics’ disappointing Game 7 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, no story has dominated headlines quite like Jaylen Brown’s future.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens shared on Wednesday that he hadn’t heard any rumored frustrations directly from Brown, and revealed that the two chatted Monday in a positive, productive conversation.
“I talked to Jaylen on Monday … real quickly and it was nothing but positive,” Stevens told reporters at the Auerbach Center. “He has not expressed his frustrations to me… I'll be here, and my door is always open. And if anybody ever wants to come in and talk about it, and talk about, you know, their team, their place, whatever the case may be, I'm all ears.”
Jaylen Brown has had himself a busy week
Stevens was prompted on Brown’s morale after the star forward’s Sunday evening Twitch stream raised the antennas of Celtics fans everywhere. He aired frustrations about the way the team went away from their depth, the thing that helped them earn 56 regular-season wins. Brown also remained consistent that this season was the most enjoyable of his 10-year career -- something he’s told the media all season long.
Said perpetual praise has been seen as a jab at Jayson Tatum, who missed the first 62 games recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, by the more cynical section of the fanbase.
For what it’s worth, Brown has plenty of reasons to be happy with the campaign, regardless of its ending. This team absolutely smashed expectations and was full of likeable guys by all accounts.
Tracy McGrady, a former All-Star and mentor of Brown, now NBC pundit, poured more fuel on the fire with what he shared on Tuesday’s edition of his Cousins Podcast.
“His frustration lies deeply within the organization and other things that we don’t have the details to,” McGrady told Vince Carter. “There’s just been a lot of stuff that I’ve been hearing going on within the Boston organization with JB. So, I think that part of him is like, ‘I showed you guys more of who I am as a basketball player, not only just what I did on the basketball court, but the leadership that I just played with this team, and you’ve seen that -- not having our best player in [Jayson Tatum]. You’ve seen the different side of me and what I’m able to bring to the game of basketball.’ So all that stuff I think just came into play with his frustration.”
McGrady couldn’t have been less clear in regards to what Brown was actually upset about. Again, according to the former No. 3 overall pick, this was his favorite season in Boston. Why is he upset?
For what it’s worth. Brown and T-Mac are notably close. If there’s anyone in the media space that’s sharing intel on JB directly from the source, it’s McGrady.
Brad Stevens did not share any concerns about Brown's future in Boston
At the same time, when taking what Stevens said at face value, JB has yet to have aired any frustrations with the franchise directly to those who are running it. The only thing Brown has publicly voiced displeasure with is the way that the team and its coaching staff strayed away from what had worked for them throughout the regular season.
Stevens' demeanor during his availability is another noteworthy piece of this. Boston's man in charge was clearly frustrated with the way that things ended for his team. He was abundently clear that they need to do whatever it takes to give themselves the best chance to win.
If he feels either that Brown's recent actions are becoming a distraction to the team or that they can improve by trading him a blockbuster deal, it feels more possible that the 10-year Celtic could be playing elsewhere. Stevens never said anything along these lines, it is just speculation.
Unfortunately, this is shaping up to be a massive case of “we’re all just going to have to wait and see how it plays out.”
This is the NBA -- the most dramatic professional sports league on the planet. It now seems that it’s Celtics fans turn to take center stage as the other 29 fanbases shovel down some popcorn.
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