Jayson Tatum On Jaylen Brown Trade Talks: “I Could Have Done A Better Job…”

Jayson Tatum thinks he should have been more vocal about not wanting Jaylen Brown to get traded.

5 Min Read

Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

For years, Jaylen Brown found his name come up in trade talks and Jayson Tatum regrets not publicly supporting his longtime co-star in those times. During an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, Tatum made it clear he never wanted Brown to be traded by the Boston Celtics.

“I’ve always told him that maybe I could have done a better job of voicing my feelings in the public eye,” Tatum says. “He always knew that I wanted him here. I would always tell him like, ‘Man, I don’t get involved with any of those talks.’ I never went to [Celtics president of basketball operations] Brad [Stevens] or went to any player like, ‘Yo, I want this guy in, I want this guy out of here.’

“I show up and I want to do my job and play basketball,” Tatum continued. “And looking back on in those moments, I didn’t know how that could affect somebody, because I was never in that situation. I feel like maybe I could have done a better job of publicly saying, ‘No, we don’t want anybody, we want JB.’ I just was always like, ‘I want to stay out of it.’”

I think it’s fair that Tatum doesn’t really want to get involved when it comes to roster moves, but there probably should have been some exceptions. Brown would have been just that and his teammate would have greatly appreciated some public support.

Regardless, Tatum’s inaction on that front doesn’t seem to have negatively affected their relationship. Brown ultimately was never traded despite growing calls for the Celtics to break up the duo and land a superstar like Kevin Durant. The two of them rewarded the team for sticking with them by helping clinch that long-awaited title.

Brown has often played second fiddle to Tatum during their time as teammates but during this title run, the roles were somewhat reversed. It was Brown who won Eastern Conference Finals MVP and then Finals MVP as well. After being overshadowed by Tatum for so long, the 27-year-old got his time in the sun at last.

With that triumph, I think it’s safe to say Brown won’t be finding his name in trade talks from now on. Instead of trading anyone away, the Celtics are running it back now by bringing back all their key pieces. They want to be the first team to repeat as champions since the dynastic Golden State Warriors. I think the Celtics are the favorites, but there is a reason why no one has repeated it after 2018.


Brad Stevens Called Past Criticism Of Jayson Tatum And Jaylen Brown Stupid

Brad Stevens played a big role in keeping the star duo together and would have felt vindicated when they led the team to the title. Following that triumph, Stevens passionately defended Brown and Tatum.

“The criticism is stupid. I don’t care. Those two have achieved more than most 25, 26-year-olds ever had. The scrutiny was because they were playing in late May and June… I’d rather be in the mix and have my guts ripped out, than suck. And those two have been really good for a long time.”

It’s true that Tatum and Brown were held to a different standard than most players of their age because they made deep playoff runs at a young age. So many of the great players only got over the line in their late 20s but these two weren’t being given that time to grow. Stevens didn’t let the outside noise influence him and it paid off.

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Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.
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