“Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury”: Stephen A. Smith Points Out Jayson Tatum’s Big Mistake Amid Jaylen Brown Feud

Stephen A. Smith has been saying it since opening night: Jaylen Brown would still be in Boston if Jayson Tatum had wanted him there.

"There is no way in hell that Jaylen Brown is gone, let alone traded within the division to the Philadelphia 76ers, if Jayson Tatum cares for that not to happen," Stephen A. Smith said on First Take after the Celtics' season-opening loss to the Pistons. That was last week.

Now, with the feud between Tatum and Brown playing out in public, Smith turned to boxing to explain why he thinks the Celtics star got it wrong.

"I think it was a huge mistake," SAS said on his show. "I don't know if only the season will prove whether I'm right or not, but I think that Jayson Tatum should have insisted on Jaylen Brown remaining a Boston Celtic for this season, so Jayson Tatum could have somebody to help him carry the load."

Smith argued that Tatum, still working his way back, needed a co-star this season.

Then came the comparison. Smith recalled advising Deontay Wilder to wait on a Tyson Fury trilogy fight and instead take on the winner of Fury-Anthony Joshua.

“Sometimes we want stuff we shouldn’t want,” Smith said, “because the cost is going to be too great.”

In his take, Wilder's later problems traced back to that third fight, against an opponent roughly 40 pounds heavier. Smith applied it to Tatum: a short-term win that could cost him in the long run. The boxing story ends with a prediction.

"I'm afraid that when it comes to Jayson Tatum, that's what we're going to be saying," Smith said.

The difference, according to him, is support. Brown now has Tyrese Maxey and LeBron James next to him in Philadelphia. “You got cover,” Smith said. “Who’s covering for Jayson Tatum?”

The opener gave him fuel. Boston led Detroit by 22 points early in the third quarter and still lost 121-113. Tatum finished with 13 points and 11 assists on 6-of-23 shooting, missing all seven of his 3-point attempts.

Paul George, acquired from Philadelphia in the Brown trade, carried the offense with 38 points, a Celtics debut record. On the same night, Brown helped the 76ers beat the defending champion Knicks 106-100 with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Smith's claim rests on an assumption that Tatum had the power to stop the deal. Tatum has said publicly that he was "just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world."

That statement started the current fight. Brown responded to the video by posting a blue-cap emoji, slang for lying.

After Boston's 107-103 win over the Knicks, Tatum said, "I reached out to him the day he got traded. I called him, I texted him," and that he was open to a conversation. Brown's response came a day later.

“There’s no beef, but you know, it might be a little lamb chops and some gravy,” Brown said. “You know what I mean? He should stay ready at all times.”

Boston's first visit to Philadelphia is on November 10, and both teams will have played enough games to tell whether the trade works for them. If Tatum struggles to carry the load and George fades, the Wilder-Fury comparison will gain weight.

If the Celtics keep winning, Smith's "huge mistake" will look like an early-season overreaction.