Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Gets Candid on Eventful Offseason

After coming within two wins of winning an NBA championship, Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics saw his name pop up in offseason trade rumors, including one, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, involving Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant.

At the time, back in July, Brown reacted only by tweeting a common three-letter abbreviation: “smh,” for “shaking my head.” Now, he’s opened up to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg about his mindset when he’s attached to trade rumors.

“You just keep doing what you do. That’s all I’ve been doing. Like, it’s been the same since I’ve been here in Boston,” Brown told Forsberg in a story published October 17. “So it’s the same now. So I just keep doing what I’ve been doing, put my best foot forward, I guess.”

Forsberg wrote that “Brown admitted there was some frustration with still having to deal with rumors — and especially the fallout — but he didn’t want to linger on the topic.”

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Brown Details His Underwater Workouts

Amid the summer’s trade rumors, Brown focused on getting his body ready for the 2022-23 season.

“This summer, I was hanging out with my grandpa, working out,” Brown said, according to Forsberg. “I feel good, I’m in the best shape of my life. So that’s it.”

Some of his workouts, posted in videos that went viral, were conducted underwater.

“In a weird way, [underwater training] kind of found me,” Brown said, according to Forsberg’s story. “All [last] season, I’d been telling myself this upcoming [offseason], I wanted to try something different. I want to get more in the water. I’m kind of muscular, tight, so if I get a little bit more fluid, I think that it can improve my game and also improve my cardio, all that.”

 

Brown notes how much he’s improved as a swimmer because of the workouts.

“I pushed myself to the limit this summer,” said Brown. “I’ve done things that I never thought I could do. I wasn’t a great swimmer. I was probably an average swimmer. And you would think I was born in the water if you saw me now.”

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Marcus Smart Got Candid on Summer Workout With Brown

During his summer training, Brown met with teammate Marcus Smart in Los Angeles to work out together.

“When I was out there, we didn’t talk about the [rumors],” Smart said, according to the October 17 Forsberg story. “I just decided — me being me — to reach out to him because I personally understand what it’s like to have your names in trade talks. I’ve been in it for nine years straight. So, for me, I can understand where his head might be, if it’s there.

“But if it’s not there, I don’t want it to get there,” Smart said. “So let me give him a little help and ease his mind knowing that you don’t take anything seriously. And trust me, your name in trade talks is not necessarily a bad thing. He understood it. But, for the most part, he was happy. After that conversation, we didn’t talk about it. Never again.”

Smart and Brown, both of whom were drafted by Boston, will begin their seventh season together on October 18 when the Celtics play the Philadelphia 76ers.

“I’m ecstatic to have Jaylen Brown [in Boston],” Smart said, according to Forsberg.

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