It’s been three months since the Boston Celtics shipped Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. Yet, for some reason, the trade continues to dominate discussion within the fanbase.
Well, that discussion is about to get turbocharged. On Monday, October 26, Brian Scalabrine claimed that, from what he’s heard, Brown requested a trade from the Celtics in the summer.
“I think Jaylen Brown lives in his own reality,” Scalabrine said during an episode of his show on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “But because it wasn’t being documented that he demanded to be traded, then I don’t think that anybody, anybody thinks that, that he could—now, he could say that it was Tatum’s fault.”
Scalabrine then continued by revealing that Brown had gone to Brad Stevens and Boston’s front office with a list of trades. The point was clear: Boston either gave in to Brown’s wishes or looked to trade him.
“Like, he could just make stuff up. But my understanding is Jaylen Brown went to the organization and had a list of demands. And it was like, ‘You either do this or you trade me.’”
Of course, if Scalabrine’s claim is true, Boston opted against meeting Brown’s demands. That decision ultimately led them to swap him with Paul George, along with acquiring two future first-round draft picks.
Jaylen Brown Was Interested In The Bucks
Shortly after the NBA season came to an end, the Celtics were linked with a potential trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Jaylen Brown was widely touted as the make-weight in that potential trade, as his contract lined up with Giannis’ almost perfectly.
According to Scalabrine, Brown was intrigued by the idea of playing for the Bucks.
“And he was rooting to get traded to Milwaukee, including calling some other teammates about, ‘Hey, man, what do you think of Milwaukee? We should go there.’”
Giannis was ultimately shipped to the Miami Heat. However, Stevens didn’t stop shopping Brown. This led many to speculate why Boston was so dead set on parting ways with Brown this summer.
Brown Was Due A Huge Extension
Another reason why the Celtics likely looked to part ways with Brown is that he was eligible for a two-year, $141 million contract extension. That would have put Brown on $70 million per season midway into his thirties.
Boston made a decision not to offer Brown that extension. They then committed to finding ways of creating future cap flexibility to help them continue building around Tatum. The return for Brown was obviously less than what anyone expected. Furthermore, the fact he was shipped to Philadelphia undoubtedly didn’t sit well with many Celtics fans.
However, if Scalabrine’s claim has some truth to it, Boston’s decision-making becomes far easier to understand. After all, if Brown had requested out, Stevens would have wanted to get a deal done before the end of the summer.
Either way, the trade happened, and both teams are moving on. Yet, for some reason, this topic continues to find ways to stay alive.
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Trade Gets Bombshell Claim From Brian Scalabrine