"They Tried to Put Us Against Each Other": Jayson Tatum Gets Honest About Jaylen Brown Relationship

After nine years of playing together for the Boston Celtics, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum are no longer teammates. Earlier this summer, Celtics president Brad Stevens shockingly decided to trade Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George and several draft picks.

Since the trade, there has been a narrative about Brown and Tatum's relationship being strained circulating all over the media. After hearing about these rumors, Tatum cleared the air and shared his true feelings for Brown and their nine-year partnership together in Boston.

"I have nothing, obviously, but love and respect for JB," Tatum said. "It's tough when you are a professional athlete, and everything we do is publicized and nitpicked. And it's been like that. We played together for nine years. There was a period of our career where we hadn't won a championship yet. But in retrospect, we were only 23 and 21 years old."

"The expectations were so high, and they just had to figure out a reason why we hadn't won yet," Tatum continued. "They tried to put us against each other. One guy shouldn't be here, whatnot. The truth is, we had nine amazing years together. We went to the Finals twice. We won a championship. I will forever be grateful for those memories and the time that we spent together."

Tatum is now set to be the sole franchise player of the Celtics, with the support of his new veteran co-star, George. Meanwhile, Brown will be looking at a new trio formed in Philly with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.

Celtics Head Coach Breaks Silence on Jaylen Brown Trade

While Boston fans were shocked to learn about the Celtics front office's decision to trade Jaylen Brown, apparently, so was head coach Joe Mazzulla. For four seasons, Mazzulla was able to coach Brown with the Celtics. They've established a solid bond together, especially after winning the NBA title in 2024.

Fast forward to the present day, upon learning about Brown's transfer to the Philadelphia 76ers, Mazzulla was shocked. Despite the situation, the Celtics' head coach was thankful for the time he had coaching Brown.

"There's an emotion that goes into it. There's a processing pattern that goes into it … he made me a better coach. I know that for a fact, the way he pushed me, the way he pushed himself, the way he pushed the locker room, he made me a better coach, and that's what you focus on."

With Brown heading to Philadelphia, it'll be interesting to see what he can achieve next to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. JB seems to be locked in and looking forward to his new stint with the Sixers. He recently expressed interest and attempted to recruit LeBron James during IShowSpeed's Twitch livestream.

With Maxey recently becoming the new face of the Sixers' franchise and Embiid hopefully maintaining his health for the majority of the year next season, the addition of Brown could be the team's golden ticket to the NBA Finals.