The Boston Celtics are gearing up for their third game of the season against the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, but fans are also keeping close tabs on old friend Jaylen Brown, who is part of the Philadelphia 76ers‘ new superteam. The C’s, of course, helped the Sixers build that team when they traded Brown to Philly in a blockbuster offseason deal.
Unsurprisingly, discussions about this trade and Brown’s relationship with his longtime partner-in-crime, Jayson Tatum, have raged on into the start of the campaign. On Monday, Celtics insider Brian Scalabrine claimed that Brown requested a trade from the team over the offseason, which led to his aforementioned deal with the 76ers. However, it didn’t take long for another insider to fire back and shoot that report down.
Insider Denies Jaylen Brown Trade Request Report
Throughout their tenure together in Boston, trade rumors swirled around Tatum and Brown, but for the most part, the latter was the guy who saw his name popping up in these discussions. Even winning the 2024 NBA Finals couldn’t quiet this chatter, but it never seemed like the Celtics seriously considered parting ways with either Tatum or Brown.
That changed early last offseason when the C’s made a big push for Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo. Brown was at the center of Boston’s trade offer, but at the end of the day, Milwaukee opted to trade Antetokounmpo to Miami. Rather than holding onto Brown, though, the Celtics dumped Brown off to the Sixers for a less-than-stellar return of Paul George and four future draft picks (two first-rounders, two second-rounders).
Brad Stevens has a great track record as the leader of the C’s front office, but his handling of this situation was quite confusing. According to Scalabrine, Boston was forced into making this deal because Brown requested a trade that did not leak out to the public. NBA insider Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints quickly disputed that notion, though, saying no such trade request ever took place.
If Jaylen Brown had requested a trade back in June, that would’ve been widely reported and we would’ve heard about it,” Siegel reported in a post on X. “In fact, it was widely reported that Brown never once demanded a trade and it was Boston’s decision to deal him. Funny how stories are made four months after.”
Celtics Trying to Move on From Jaylen Brown Trade
Whether or not Brown requested a trade at this point is insignificant. At the end of the day, he’s gone, and while it’s tough for the Celtics and their fans to see him playing for one of their longtime rivals, they can take solace in the fact that Boston is still fielding a very good team around Tatum.
At some point, these two are going to square off against each other this season, and the overarching expectation is that this will remain a storyline throughout the year. The C’s have done a great job at blocking out this sort of noise in the past, though, and you can bet they will look to do so again on Monday night when they take the court against the Bulls.
Insider Shoots Down Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Trade Request Rumor