Jaylen Brown sat at Sixers media day a month ago and smirked when asked if the team knew who the alpha was. His two-word answer, "Next question," carried years of frustration as Brown -- now a Philadelphia 76er after Boston traded him this offseason -- navigates a familiar position on a team he didn't choose. Four months into his Sixers tenure, Brown again fields questions about his relationship with former running mate Jayson Tatum, partly fueled by a social media firestorm. NBC Sports analyst Brian Scalabrine reported Brown made "demands" and a "trade request" in Boston, though a source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN the report was untrue. Instead, the source said Boston failed to trade Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks while he was on vacation. Brown did request to be involved in the trade process, which the Celtics ignored, sending him to Philadelphia only after the deal was finalized.
Brown reacted to the trade on his Twitch stream, saying he felt a "lack of respect" during the process. He believed there was "more to it" regarding how general manager Brad Stevens facilitated conversations. Brown was on a monthlong vacation in China, Africa and Europe when he learned the Celtics tried to trade him for Giannis Antetokounmpo. The team decided to trade Brown because his and Tatum's massive contracts made it difficult to build a sustained contender. On Tuesday, Brown and Tatum will face off for the first time as opponents, leading the top two teams in the Eastern Conference -- the Sixers (9-2) against the Celtics (8-2) at 8 p.m. ET. Brown has no plans to repair the relationship, calling it "lamb chops and some gravy" rather than beef.
Source: ESPN NBA · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing