Exactly one month after Jaylen Brown\u2019s seismic trade to the Philadelphia 76ers, the former Celtics star addressed the media for the first time.<\/p>\n
In an introductory news conference<\/a> 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\u2019s joining and his relationship with his longtime Boston co-star, Jayson Tatum.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I first got traded,\u201d Brown told reporters, \u201cI just threw my phone across the room.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown, who\u2019d spent his entire 10-year NBA career with the Celtics, admitted he was \u201cstill processing\u201d the trade, which was first reported on July 1 and finalized five days later<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of emotions,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a process. To be honest, I\u2019m 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\u2019ve been for a very, very long time. Like, I\u2019ve been in Boston for 10 years. I\u2019m 29 years old, so I was there a third of my life. I met some people, some lifelong friends, some people I\u2019ll still be connected to. But any (time) that you start something new, it\u2019s the end of something else.\u201d<\/p>\n After the trade, Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said he dealt Brown because he believed it was no longer feasible<\/a> to have two high-usage players (Brown and Tatum) taking up 70% of Boston\u2019s salary cap space. It was a move aimed at increasing the Celtics\u2019 \u201coptionality,\u201d Stevens reiterated several times in his July 6 news conference, adding that it might not have been deemed necessary<\/a> had the NBA not implemented such strict luxury tax restrictions in its latest collective bargaining agreement.<\/p>\n Stevens acknowledged the trade \u2014 which sent Brown to one of Boston\u2019s oldest rivals for an uninspiring return of 36-year-old Paul George and four future draft picks \u2014 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.<\/p>\n Brown was asked Thursday what bothered him about the process.<\/p>\n \u201cThe whole process,\u201d he replied. \u201cBut to be honest, I don\u2019t even \u2014 my mind is so focused on what\u2019s in front of me. To be honest, I\u2019m 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\u2019s a lot of speculation. I feel no need to chime in on it because I\u2019m focused on what\u2019s in front of me.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the unceremonious end, Brown said he felt \u201cvery grateful\u201d for the decade he spent in Boston.<\/p>\n \u201cA lot of my most important years, my most developmental years as a young man, I spent in Boston,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cI got there at 19. I didn\u2019t 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\u2019m looking forward to continuing my foundation work, as well as expanding it here to Philadelphia.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m 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\u2019s time to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Brown also mentioned respect when asked about his relationship with Tatum, with whom he played nine seasons and won a title in 2024.<\/p>\n Tatum, who missed most of Brown\u2019s 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 \u201cthe smartest person in the room\u201d \u2014 comments viewed by many as a dig at his ex-running mate.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, we won a championship together,\u201d Brown told reporters. \u201cSo anybody that you win a championship with, you would think that\u2019s what a brotherhood or a lifelong legacy would entail. Obviously, there\u2019s ups and downs in any relationship, for sure. But on my end, it\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked whether he\u2019d spoken with Tatum, Brown replied: \u201cNot really.\u201d<\/p>\n