The Boston Celtics have been dealing with drama from the Jaylen Brown trade. They decided to move on from him in the offseason, trading him for Paul George. Brown is about to take on his former team for the first time in the regular season.
A few weeks ago, Brian Scalabrine had a report that claimed Brown had a list of demands from the Celtics. Eventually, he walked back that report. Still, it made headlines. ESPN is now claiming that Scal’s report never had any truth to it at any point.
ESPN Discredits Brian Scalabrine’s Report on Jaylen Brown and the Celtics
Krish Rhim of ESPN made it clear that his sources told him that what Scalabrine claimed was untrue.
“A source with knowledge of the situation told ESPN that there was no truth to the report,” Rhim wrote.
However, his sources did find out that the Celtics tried to shop Brown around to the Milwaukee Bucks instead of Brown demanding to be traded there.
“Instead, the source said, Brown discovered his former team had tried — and failed — to trade him to the Milwaukee Bucks while he was on vacation over the summer. The one thing Brown did ask for, the source said, was to be involved in the process of where he was traded. The Celtics ignored the request and sent him 300 miles southwest to Philadelphia,” Rhim revealed.
Brown knew that there was a possibility that he could be moved, and he wanted to be involved in possibly steering where he would go. Instead, he wound up with the 76ers. That has worked out, as the Sixers are the top seed in the Eastern Conference to this point in the season.
Brown likely wanted to go somewhere that he could be the top option. He is at best the second option on this current team, as Tyrese Maxey is the main option. Joel Embiid might be ahead of Brown depending on the night, as well.
Boston Has Played Well Without Jaylen Brown
Since moving on from Brown, the Celtics have made things work. The main reason for that has been the stellar play of George. He has been a much better player than they thought he would be. He is averaging over 20 points per game and is shooting over 42 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.
So far, George has been durable enough. He has played in nine of the team’s 10 games. That durability likely won’t last the entire season, but Boston is riding it while it has it. Jayson Tatum has looked better further removed from his Achilles injury, as well.
Right now, the Celtics have the fifth-best offense in the NBA. They also sit as the second seed in the East, just a half-game behind Philadelphia. So far, the trade seems to have worked out for all parties involved.
ESPN Claims Celtics’ Brian Scalabrine’s Jaylen Brown Report Had ‘No Truth to It’