“To Be Transparent, It’s Weird”: Jayson Tatum Gets Honest on Jaylen Brown Getting Traded

After nine years of playing together with the Boston Celtics, for the first time in their careers, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum will no longer be teammates. Earlier this summer, the Celtics traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Paul George and several draft picks.

Tatum recently made an appearance at ESPN's ESPY Awards on Wednesday. He was asked about how he feels about Brown getting traded and how he sees his future with his former duo no longer by his side.

"To be transparent, it's weird," Tatum said. "I've been on the Celtics for nine years, and he was my teammate. 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 ... But there's also a side of, like, you have to welcome our new teammates."

The trade between the Celtics and Sixers turned lots of heads. Many couldn't fathom how Celtics president Brad Stevens believed that George is a better fit compared to their former 2024 NBA Finals MVP. Analysts believe that the Sixers got away with a huge steal, predicting that they could legitimately contend for the title in the upcoming season.

As for Tatum, it'll be interesting to see if he can replicate a similar, if not better, finish in the Eastern Conference next season as the Celtics' only face of the franchise. Last season, Brown led Boston to the No. 2 seed. He proved that despite Tatum's absence, he didn't need a co-star to carry his team.

Jayson Tatum Opens Up on Relationship With Jaylen Brown

Throughout their nine-year stint together, there has been a narrative that Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum dislike each other. Analysts believe that their relationship is purely professional and haven't established a bond off the court.

While some evidence shows that these rumors could be true, Tatum denied the allegations and shared his honest feelings about Brown. JT expressed his appreciation for JB. He then opened up about the difficulties and expectations the duo had to face at such a young age when they both were just starting 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 in our career when 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, or whatever. 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."

Next season, we're expecting to see several matchups between Brown and Tatum. Many fans are interested in seeing which of the two will beat the other and come out on top in the regular season. Others are also looking forward to a potential NBA playoff rematch, this time with Brown representing the Philadelphia 76ers, the team that beat the Celtics in the first round of the 2026 playoffs.