It feels like we are stuck with a bizarre, never-ending saga ever since the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the 76ers. People struggled to understand the deal from Boston’s end for much of the offseason, but just as the season began and it felt like people were ready to move on and embrace the new roster, things have heated up again with comments back and forth from Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Monday, on SiriusXM’s NBA Radio, Brian Scalabrine added some fuel to the fire in his discussion with Frank Isola.
“My understanding of this thing is that he demanded to be traded… not to the media, but to the organization… I think Jaylen Brown lives in his own reality… Because it wasn’t being documented that he demanded to be traded… that now he can say that it was Tatum’s fault, he can just make stuff up. But my understanding is Jaylen Brown went to the organization and had a list of demands… And he was rooting to get traded to Milwaukee, including calling some other teammates about, ‘Hey man, what do you think about Milwaukee? We should go there.”
Woah.
Scalabrine is essentially saying JB gave Celtics trade ultimatum
That’s quite a lot to digest from Brian Scalabrine, former Celtics player and current color commentator for NBC Sports Boston. I’m not saying this is gospel, but I have to imagine he’s about as plugged into the team as anyone in the media, and he seemed pretty intentional with his words and wasn’t pulling any punches.
He explained that he doesn’t understand at all why Brown would be mad at Tatum, and expressed that it’s bizarre for him to call Tatum a liar when his entire narrative is rooted in lies. Some seriously strong claims from the White Mamba.
And yet, it’s hard to doubt him. This all makes perfect sense and lines up with everything that has happened with the Celtics in the past few months. It also makes me wonder why any Celtics fans aren’t backing Tatum, or think he played any hand in this or did anything wrong. He keeps taking the high road and showing respect for Brown, while JB fans the flames and suggests there is beef between the two stars and longtime teammates.
It sure sounds like Brown was annoyed that the organization valued Tatum over him after everything he had done for Boston and was ready to move on. He may not consider this a trade demand, but for all intents and purposes, it clearly was, and that’s how the Celtics’ front office viewed it.
Celtics handled Brown trade as well as they could have
Knowing all of this, I have no idea what grudge Brown holds towards Tatum. Was he upset that JT didn’t throw himself in front of the trade? Did he want JT to take a backseat? Does he think JT was angling to get him out behind closed doors? It’s hard to say what JB is thinking, and we may never truly know.
But based on everything we’ve seen and heard publicly, I think it’s safe to say the Celtics were in a tough spot and did what they thought was best for the organization. All things considered, I think the team is in a great spot for the present and future, and I couldn’t be happier with Tatum as the face of the franchise.
Hopefully, relationships can be patched up, and Brown can return to Boston someday and embrace Tatum and the rest of his teammates and coaches, and receive the proper honor that he deserves. But for now, that seems like a long way off, and it’s time to focus on basketball and beating Brown, the 76ers, and the rest of the NBA.
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