Exactly one month after Jaylen Brown’s seismic trade to the Philadelphia 76ers, the former Celtics star addressed the media for the first time.
In an introductory news conference held Thursday at the Francis J. Myers Recreation Center in Philadelphia, Brown fielded questions about his reaction to the blockbuster deal, the uber-talented team he’s joining and his relationship with his longtime Boston co-star, Jayson Tatum.
“When I first got traded,” Brown told reporters, “I just threw my phone across the room.”
Brown, who’d spent his entire 10-year NBA career with the Celtics, admitted he was “still processing” the trade, which was first reported on July 1 and finalized five days later.
“It’s been a lot of emotions,” Brown said. “It’s been a process. To be honest, I’m still processing to some degree. One, the excitement of coming to a new city, new place, new expectations, new energy, then also leaving somewhere that you’ve been for a very, very long time. Like, I’ve been in Boston for 10 years. I’m 29 years old, so I was there a third of my life. I met some people, some lifelong friends, some people I’ll still be connected to. But any (time) that you start something new, it’s the end of something else.”
After the trade, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said he dealt Brown because he believed it was no longer feasible to have two high-usage players (Brown and Tatum) taking up 70% of Boston’s salary cap space. It was a move aimed at increasing the Celtics’ “optionality,” Stevens reiterated several times in his July 6 news conference, adding that it might not have been deemed necessary had the NBA not implemented such strict luxury tax restrictions in its latest collective bargaining agreement.
Stevens acknowledged the trade — which sent Brown to one of Boston’s oldest rivals for an uninspiring return of 36-year-old Paul George and four future draft picks — would be unpopular among Celtics fans. Brown also took umbrage with how it was handled, saying in a Twitch stream that he felt disrespected by his former franchise as he endured weeks of trade speculation.
Brown was asked Thursday what bothered him about the process.
“The whole process,” he replied. “But to be honest, I don’t even — my mind is so focused on what’s in front of me. To be honest, I’m moving on. Maybe one day, we can share the details of how everything transpired and all the moving parts that took place in this. Obviously, it’s a lot of speculation. I feel no need to chime in on it because I’m focused on what’s in front of me.”
Despite the unceremonious end, Brown said he felt “very grateful” for the decade he spent in Boston.
“A lot of my most important years, my most developmental years as a young man, I spent in Boston,” he told reporters. “I got there at 19. I didn’t do a four-year degree because I left (college) early, so I got my degree in Boston in a sense. I spent time there, so the relationships are still there. The connection is still there. I’m looking forward to continuing my foundation work, as well as expanding it here to Philadelphia.
“But I’m very grateful for my experience, my tenure in Boston. Ten years is a perfect cycle, a perfect number for completion. We won a championship, and I have nothing but respect for the city of Boston. But now it’s time to move forward.”
Brown also mentioned respect when asked about his relationship with Tatum, with whom he played nine seasons and won a title in 2024.
Tatum, who missed most of Brown’s final season in Boston following Achilles surgery, recently made headlines when he told participants at his youth basketball camp that he wants to learn rather than being “the smartest person in the room” — comments viewed by many as a dig at his ex-running mate.
“You know, we won a championship together,” Brown told reporters. “So anybody that you win a championship with, you would think that’s what a brotherhood or a lifelong legacy would entail. Obviously, there’s ups and downs in any relationship, for sure. But on my end, it’s nothing but respect. Besides when he plays the Sixers, I hope he does well. But other than that, everything for me is just based in respect.”
Asked whether he’d spoken with Tatum, Brown replied: “Not really.”
Acquiring Brown was part of a transformative offseason for the 76ers, who later signed LeBron James to supercharge a starting lineup that already featured 2023 NBA MVP Joel Embiid, two-time All-Star Tyrese Maxey and Rookie of the Year finalist VJ Edgecombe. Philadelphia is hoping that loaded group can deliver the franchise its first championship since 1983 (and first trip past the conference semifinals since 2001).
Questions about how all of those big-name stars will fit together are valid and will be answered in time, Brown said. His focus as he adjusts to his new surroundings is to “just be myself.”
“Obviously, on paper, we’re excellent,” Brown told reporters. “We have a lot of talent compared to other teams in the league. But I’ve been around a long time — long enough to know that just what you have on paper don’t really mean nothing. It can, if you put the work in, but it also, if you allow distractions, if you allow the media to get into your locker room, if you allow certain things and the personalities don’t work, it could be a detriment.
“So I’m aware that it could go either way. It just takes the amount of work and the transparency, and the leadership can really guide this thing or not.”
Brown’s first trip back to TD Garden is set for Oct. 10, when the Celtics host the 76ers in their home preseason opener. Boston and Philly also will play another exhibition game on Oct. 16, then meet four times during the regular season, the schedule for which has yet to be released.