Discussions surrounding the Boston Celtics‘ decision to trade Jaylen Brown show no sign of slowing down.
Brad Stevens sent shockwaves around the NBA when he agreed to ship Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in return for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.
During a July 17 edition of ESPN’s NBA Today, Marc Spears shed further light on the situation that led Boston to move on from Brown. He claimed that throughout the Tatum and Brown era, the Celtics consistently showed favor toward Tatum.
“I hear they were cool,” Spears said. “They were definitely cool. But if you look at what the Celtics have been doing for the last couple of years, they have favored Jayson over Jaylen. And Jayson wasn’t asking for this. This is something that they just did.”
Spears continued.
“And what I mean by that is Jayson had some friends that were hired by the team, Jaylen doesn’t. When Jayson was hurt, Jaylen was in the starting five and they announced him last, and as soon as Jayson came back, that changed.”
The truth is that Tatum is Boston’s best player. It makes sense that the franchise favored its star talent. Any organization in the NBA would, and does, do the same.
Tatum Shares Thoughts On Celtics’ Brown Trade
When speaking with reporters during his appearance at the ESPYs, Tatum was asked his thoughts on Boston’s decision to part ways with Brown.
“If I’m being transparent, it’s weird,” Tatum said. “I’ve been on the Celtics for nine years and he was my teammate every single one of those.”
The All-NBA forward then shared his thoughts on the upcoming season and why there’s still reason to be excited.
“There’s still a human element of it that you feel those emotions. The city feels those emotions,” Tatum continued. “But there’s also a side of like, ‘we have to welcome our new teammates in with open arms, and we still have to attack the new season. So, there’s like a balance. But it’s weird.”
Celtics Traded Brown Due To Finances
During a July 17 appearance on The Pat McAfee Show, ESPN’s Shams Charania confirmed that Boston’s decision to trade Brown was centered around his impending contract extension.
“They knew they were not going to offer Jaylen Brown the two-year, $140 million contract extension,” Charania said. “That would have caused a reaction. Both sides would have had to have even harder conversations, and this could have gone another way. This could have gotten ugly potentially because you’ve already shopped the player multiple times. In 2022, he was offered for Kevin Durant.”
Brad Stevens had also hinted at Brown’s current contract being part of the decision-making process when he addressed the media on July 6.
“The path looked a little bit more challenging to me,” Stevens said. “I’m not going to stand up there and be defensive about that. But the path looked a little bit more challenging with 70% of our cap, and such a high percentage of our usage tied into two players.”
Regardless of how you feel about trading Brown, Boston will now be moving forward with Tatum and George. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t be surprised to hear Boston favored Tatum in recent years. That’s what teams do for their star player.
Like HEAVY’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Celtics Accused Of Playing Favorites Between Tatum And Brown appeared first on HEAVY.