Jaylen Brown delivered his clearest public response yet to mounting speculation surrounding his relationship with the Celtics on Wednesday, after a former NBA star who is reportedly close to Brown claimed the 10-year veteran is frustrated with the Boston organization.
The controversy around Brown’s supposed negative feelings toward the team that drafted him with the No. 3 overall pick out of the University of California in 2016 took on such momentum in the Boston media that at his postseason press conference, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was issued his own response to the claims. Brown’s comments arrive as questions continue swirling around the Celtics’ future following another disappointing postseason exit, with Stevens now forced to publicly address speculation involving the All-NBA forward’s long-term status in Boston.
“He has not expressed those frustrations to me,” Stevens said, brushing aside the claims that originated with retired seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady, who is said to be a “mentor” to Brown.
The Celtics, after stripping down the roster that won them an NBA championship just two years earlier, were projected to win just 42 or 43 games. Instead, led by Brown, Boston won 56 games and grabbed the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
But in the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics gave away a 3-1 series lead to suffer an early elimination at the hands of their archrivals, the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I think his frustration lies deeply within the organization and other things that we don’t have the details too,” McGrady said on a podcast Tuesday. “There’s just been a lot of stuff that I’ve been hearing going on with the Boston organization with J.B.”
A day later, Brown took to his livestream to address his “frustrations.”
Brown: ‘I Love Boston’
Stevens said that he had conversations with Brown since the playoff exit, including on Monday just two days after the Celtics’ stunning Game 7 loss to Philadelphia, and that the conversations were “nothing but positive.”
In his statement, Brown expressed regret that Stevens was forced to respond to the allegations.
“First things first, a lot of stuff swirling around the Celtics and the organization. Hate that our president of basketball operations even had to respond to this,” Brown said on the livestream. “Me and Brad have a great relationship. I love Boston. If it was up to me, I could play in Boston for the next 10 years. I’ll say it again. I hate that our — I hate that Brad even had to respond to this. Like I said, me and Brad have a great relationship and I can play in Boston for the next 10 years. I love Boston.”
Media Claims Brown Wants Out of Boston
Brown went on to say that “I’m really not here to clear up no backlash or to, you know, I’m really here to add context because a lot of people in the media and or social media don’t always kind of select to use their brain. So, to give context.”
Brown’s comments and those made by Stevens would seem to put to rest media speculation that the supposed “frustration” felt by Brown was a precursor to the five-time All-Star’s departure from the Celtics franchise.
“I have moved from possible to highly probable that Jaylen Brown gets moved this offseason,” wrote CLNS Media president John Zannis, in a typical comment. “Feels like a foregone conclusion.”
But Brown’s assertion that he prefers to play another 10 years for the Celtics directly contradicts those claims.
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Makes Blunt Admission About Boston Future