Wednesday makes two weeks since the Boston Celtics agreed to trade Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George, a complicated 2028 first-round pick swap, a 2031 first-round pick, and two second-round picks. The news shocked basketball fans around the world.
After nine years, the partnership between Brown and Jayson Tatum had come to an end -- for an underwhelming return, nonetheless.
Tatum hadn’t made any public appearances in the media since the deal went down prior to Wednesday. He was at Boston’s Summer League opener, but wasn’t made available to reporters in Las Vegas.
The 28-year-old Celtics star finally spoke about the trade for the first time at the 2026 ESPY’s.
"To be transparent, it's weird,” Tatum explained to Kevin Negandhi. “I’ve been on the Celtics for nine years and he was my teammate for every single one of those. You understand throughout the course of your career that the NBA is a business and people change teams, and change coaches, and change front offices. But it doesn't make it any easier. It's still a human element of it that you feel those emotions. The city feels those emotions. But it's also a side where you have to welcome our new teammates with open arms, and we still have to attack the new season."
Jayson Tatum on Jaylen Brown getting traded:
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) July 15, 2026
"To be transparent, it's weird.... You understand throughout the course of your career that the NBA is a business and people change teams... but it doesn't make it any easier. It's still a human element of it.. But it's also a side… pic.twitter.com/Wb2Mtwj5Vv
Tatum’s answer was exactly what you’d expect from him; very down the middle, non-committal one way or another, yet acknowledges enough aspects to the situation to satisfy the public’s curiosity.
This isn’t to say the response is dishonest, it’s probably truthful, but it’s also bland.
The Celtics have made their bed, now they have to lay in it
There really is nothing else for Tatum or anyone within the organization to do about it at this point besides keep moving forward. Earlier this month, Celtics president Brad Stevens made it clear that the front office remains confident in its roster as constructed.
Plus, they’re happy about the added financial flexibility and draft capital they’ll have at their disposal down the line.
Painful or not, moving on from Brown rips the metaphorical band-aid off when it comes to his next contract. The 29-year-old would’ve been eligible to negotiate an extension. Because he’s earned All-NBA recognition, Brown would’ve been eligible for a supermax deal, which nets him roughly 35% of the salary cap.
With Tatum making the same percentage, it’d be tough to continue to surround the pair of stars with the right level of talent moving forward.
“I might be wrong, not going to stand up here and be defensive about that -- but the path looked a little bit more challenging with 70% of our cap and such a high percent of our usage tied into two players," Stevens told reporters last Monday via CLNS Media.
Unfortunately, because of when the deal happened, all anyone can do is theorize about how it’ll impact the team in the short-term. There’s still another three months before training camp starts.
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