A representative for Philadelphia 76ers forward Jaylen Brown has called a report that Brown demanded a trade or presented the Boston Celtics with a list of demands “10000% a lie.”
The Celtics traded Brown to Philadelphia this past offseason in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks (2028, 2031) and two second-round selections (2028, 2030).
On Monday, former NBA player and NBC Sports Boston analyst Brian Scalabrine said Brown requested a trade from Boston, had a list of demands and was “rooting to be traded to Milwaukee.”
Brown’s representative disputed that account. Brown never requested a trade to the Milwaukee Bucks, the representative said. After a deal centred on forward Giannis Antetokounmpo fell through in the offseason, and Boston told Brown he would be traded anyway, his only request was to have input on his destination.
Scalabrine walked back his comments before the Celtics hosted the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. He said Brown did not “technically demand to be traded,” but he maintained that Brown came to Boston with a list of demands.
Scalabrine stands by his account
“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.”
According to the representative, the only other request Brown made to the Celtics while he was in Boston was that he and Jayson Tatum be treated equally.
Brown and Tatum trade barbs
The report arrived during a week of public sparring between the two former Celtics teammates. It started when Brown posted a blue hat emoji, slang for “cap” or lying, on Instagram in response to Tatum. In a video on his YouTube channel, Tatum had said he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” by Brown’s trade.
“There’s no beef. It’s not about that. It should be more praise,” Tatum said a day later. “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.”
“He should stay ready at all times,” Brown added.
Brown declined to explain why he posted the cap emoji under Tatum’s post, saying instead that he and Tatum were focused on what lay ahead. Tatum said he would welcome a conversation to resolve the potential issue. When asked whether he would be open to that talk, 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 played together in Boston for nine seasons. Both were selected third in the draft, Brown in 2016 and Tatum a year later. Together, they were 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.