Celtics Star Sounds Off on Trade Rumors in Podcast Interview

Getty Jaylen Brown #7 talks with Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics during the second half against the New York Knicks.

On July 25, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski released a shocking report as the Brooklyn Nets continue to look for a trade partner in Kevin Durant discussions. In his report, Wojnarowski shared that the Boston Celtics have emerged as a possible landing spot for Durant and have offered All-Star Jaylen Brown in the discussions. Shams Charania quickly added to the reporting that Boston had offered Brown and Derrick White in exchange for Durant and that the Nets turned the deal down. The Nets apparently countered wanting Marcus Smart in any Durant deal, and a deal has yet to get done. 

It didn’t take long following the initial reports of the Nets and Celtics discussing Durant deals that other NBA insiders shared that the talks between the two teams were “weeks old.” Both ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer pushed back on the reports stating that there hasn’t been any talk between Boston and Brooklyn for a trade since the NBA’s summer league in Las Vegas. 

Jaylen Brown, who is mentioned to be the centerpiece of the Durant discussions, shared a tweet the morning of Wojnarowski’s report that included him in trade rumors with a simple “Smh.” However, no talks seem to be actively happening between the two sides, and Brown doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. Brown’s teammate Jayson Tatum recently shared his thoughts on NBA trade rumors during an appearance on the Celtics Lab podcast. 

Tatum Comments on Trade Rumors

After being asked about trade rumors and how the All-Star and other players deal with them, Tatum shared that it is just something he is used to now. 

“It’s just the world we live in, right? It always comes from an anonymous source,” Tatum told Quinn. “But it always makes ESPN or Twitter or whatever, and everybody sees it. So you never know what is true and what’s not true, but it gets people to talk about it, and I guess that’s the idea. They got what they wanted out of the deal, for people to talk about it and make speculations.”

Tatum also added that he tries not to believe everything he sees, which is interesting given the contradicting reports among NBA Insiders. It’s important to note that sometimes these insiders are given information to leak which can help one side get leverage in negotiations which is something one league executive believed about the Celtics leak for the Nets. This helps give possible reasoning for the reports that Boston has “emerged” in discussions that were also “weeks old.” 

Can’t Pay Attention to Everything

The NBA has become a year round sport largely because of the transaction. Even in the NBA offseason the league still makes headlines largely because of reports and rumors and some happen and some don’t. Tatum noted with all the rumors that players can ‘drive yourself crazy’ with them and how he has learned to handle the rumors.

“If you pay attention to everything you see on Twitter or TV, you drive yourself crazy. I think that’s just something that you have to learn, just to keep your own sanity and your own peace,” Tatum continued. “They will literally say anything, and some of it might be true, and there are other things that just couldn’t be further from the truth…. we don’t know who said it, so just control what you can control. That’s what I always live by.”