Days after the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the 76ers, it has come to light that the former MVP candidate and Jayson Tatum had slowly grown apart over the course of the last year.
ESPN’s senior NBA insider, Shams Charania, recently appeared on ‘The Stephen A. Smith Show,’ where he dove into how the team dynamics developed over the years on the Celtics and how it impacted their personal relationship.
“There were interesting team dynamics between Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. When Jayson Tatum was coming back to the team, like this was Jaylen Brown’s team, and he made it clear that people knew it was his team, and Jayson Tatum had to basically just slide in,” said Charania.
“But Jayson Tatum has always been a man in Boston, right? And so there’s that eb and flow, that back and forth that goes on for a lot of it. It’s been competitive and healthy, but it is something that the Celtics knew was a thing.”
“Their whole perspective, when I talked to people in Boston, it’s like when they’re on the court together, we know how good they are, and that’s going to supersede everything, which is going to make everything go away,” he added.
Smith then asked Charania to further speak about the difference in the Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown brands in Boston, in terms of how the people perceived them differently.
“A couple of things on this. One, over the last three or four weeks, while this Jaylen Brown stuff was going on, teams were calling the Celtics on Jayson Tatum. Their answer was a hard stop. No, we’re not trading Jayson Tatum. He’s untouchable. He’s not on the table,” revealed Charania.
“Jaylen Brown, different story. Open for business. Ready to trade him. Give us your best offer. So, that’s the dichotomy of both of those situations. Just so we know, from a reporting perspective, they treated Jaylen Brown differently than they treated Jayson Tatum.”
“The other thing is is I’ll say this, both have made hundreds of millions of dollars in on-court salary. Both have made tens of millions of dollars in off-court salary.”
“But I saw an interview in the aftermath of the trade. Jaylen Brown did an interview with Jayson Tatum, or maybe they were both interviewed at different points, and Jaylen Brown said it. Jayson Tatum is, in paraphrasing Jaylen Brown’s words, you know, this, you know, straight n straight and narrow, clean-cut, polished player and person.”
“Jaylen Brown is different. He has different thoughts. He wants to do stuff differently in the community. He wants to impact people’s lives. He wants to be- he’s, to an extent, got these different philanthropic efforts, especially in the Boston community.”
“I saw today there was a video that went up in Massachusetts. Today, the governor made 7/7, which is today Juice Foundation Day, which is in honor of Jaylen Brown’s company.”
“As you know, he’s so Jaylen Brown’s point was this is what Jayson Tatum is, and I am different, I am thinking differently, I’m wanting to do this, I might be a little bit off-brand.”
“And I think that speaks for itself, right, as you have on one side a guy in Jayson Tatum who’s, you know, over the course of his career commercials different aspects like that in Jaylen Brown’s words right in paraphrasing like polished like straight narrow like this is what his vision is.”
“So, it’s not to say either side is wrong; either side is right. Like, at the end of the day, you know, when I talk to people in the league, like Jaylen Brown is going to be making, you know, great money on the court and off the court for the rest of his career. But it is a tale of two different people.”
“And for the longest time, over 10 years, nine years together, they both worked amazingly on the court together. Like on the court, they were great. But, like, over the last year or so, that personal relationship was as close to, like, you know, nonexistent as you could have. But on the court, they were amazing, hardworking professionals together.”
There were reports earlier that suggested both players ignored each other in Cannes a week before the trade. And in the aftermath of the trade, the pressure is now on Tatum to deliver as the sole face of the Celtics franchise.
This is a bit surprising to hear since over the years, while the media pitted them against each other, Brown and Tatum always presented a united front where they were both willing to help each other become better for the greater good of the team. It seems that the personal dynamics between the players are not what they make the public perceive them to be.
Jayson Tatum Speaks On “Weird” Jaylen Brown Trade
After penning down a heartfelt message to Brown on his Instagram story, Jayson Tatum has now spoken to the media for the first time since the trade news broke. He sat down with the Newton Community Stage for an hour-long interview, where he addressed his emotions on the move.
“To be honest, weird. It’s weird,” Tatum said. “You play on a team with a guy for 9 years. I was fortunate enough to go to the finals with him twice, win a championship, and push each other to be the players that we are today.
“The NBA is an incredible business; it’s an incredible job, but there are some downsides to the business and moments like this, where you just kind of feel like you’re going to be on the team with somebody, because that’s all you know,” he said.
“And then it’s just like, one day you find out that they’re no longer on your team. And we’re all humans. We feel all those emotions. Going into the facility, and knowing that you have different teammates, and somebody that you’ve been to war with, essentially, is on a different team.”
“It’s tough. But it just makes you appreciate the moments and time that we had,” Tatum said. “Obviously, it came to an abrupt ending, but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t super successful. Great years, obviously, that he gave to the city and to the organization.”
“The tough part is you miss teammates, but then you have new teammates, and you want to welcome those guys and accept them and move forward with them, so there is a balance there.”
Both Brown and Tatum were the third overall picks in the 2016 and 2017 NBA Drafts, respectively. Together, they have led the Celtics to five Eastern Conference Finals and two NBA Finals since then.
As much as reports point to a rift in their personal dynamics currently, they cannot deny that over the nine years they had spent with the franchise, it was almost like they went to war together.
While no one except the two players can certainly speak to the reality of their personal relationship, sources close to the team have indicated to ESPN that the two players were strictly professional at all times.
Brad Stevens, the Celtics’ president, clarified yesterday that this decision was taken due to financial issues and not due to any issues in team dynamics. He claimed Brown did not ask for the trade, and Tatum was not consulted before making the trade.
In my opinion, the domino effect started with Tatum’s ACL injury when the former Finals MVP was forced to take the reins of the team alone. This may have created a rift in the relationship between the two players as Tatum sat out for most of the 2025-26 season while Brown had an MVP-caliber season.
If there’s any controversial element of their relationship, the truth will likely only come out after either one of them retires. Nothing can be said for certain except that this duo’s time together in Boston is now over.
