The NBA offseason was wild, to say the least. The Philadelphia 76ers were arguably the most aggressive team, trading for Jaylen Brown and signing top free agent LeBron James.
However, Brown’s departure from the Boston Celtics did not end on a positive note. He is clearly unhappy with how the organization handled the situation, and there also appears to be tension between him and Jayson Tatum. When Brown was first traded, he made his true feelings about the Celtics’ handling of his departure clear.
“I wasn’t thrilled with how the conversation was facilitated. I did feel like it was a lack of respect. At one point it was fine, and then out of nowhere it just went left. I definitely think there’s more to it. There definitely is more to it. I know Brad is getting a lot of criticism, but I just wish more of it could have been explained. I just wish they had the respect to tell me exactly what it was, and I would have understood and respected that,” Brown said.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Brown took another shot at Tatum, telling the media that his former teammate had a good PR team while hinting at some tension between them.
“He’s got a great PR team. It’s no beef, but it might be a little lamb chop. And some gravy. He should stay ready at all times,” Brown said.
The 76ers and Celtics faced off for the first time this season on Tuesday night. Before tipoff, Tatum approached Brown, but the former Celtic appeared to brush off his former teammate. Four-time NBA All-Star DeMarcus Cousins later criticized Tatum’s approach, calling the interaction performative.
“I feel like Jaylen Brown, with the words that he said, he’s kind of made it clear, like, we’re not cool. There’s nothing to really talk about… to me, it was a bit performative. It was almost like, let me be the good guy in the spotlight while I can make him look like the bad guy in the spotlight. At the end of the day, if you can’t have a conversation in private, why have an interaction in public,” Cousins said.
At this point, it is difficult to know exactly who played what role in the situation. However, before the trade went through, Brown reportedly had to confront Tatum about their future together as a duo. Just days later, Brown was dealt to Philadelphia.
It is already known that Tatum did little to publicly support Brown while his name was circulating in trade rumors. That makes Cousins’ criticism about the interaction even more interesting, as he questioned whether Tatum was trying to portray himself as the good guy in a public setting despite the tension that had already developed between the two.
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