Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum face off as opponents for the first time Tuesday night, when Brown’s Philadelphia 76ers host the Boston Celtics. Four months after the trade, the question of how Brown’s decade in Boston came to an end has not gone away.
Kris Rhim, who covers the 76ers for ESPN, is the latest to weigh in, with a feature published Tuesday morning. A source told ESPN there was no truth to an earlier report that Brown had asked for a trade, and Rhim reported that the Celtics brushed aside the one request Brown did make.
Source Denies Jaylen Brown Sought a Trade From the Boston Celtics
That report came from Brian Scalabrine, an analyst for NBC Sports and Celtics TV, who had pointed to Brown’s “demands” and “trade request” in Boston before walking back the trade-request part. Rhim’s reporting gave a different account of the summer:
“Instead, the source said, Brown discovered his former team had tried — and failed — to trade him to the Milwaukee Bucks while he was on vacation over the summer. The one thing Brown did ask for, the source said, was to be involved in the process of where he was traded. The Celtics ignored the request and sent him 300 miles southwest to Philadelphia.”
Brown was abroad for a month, in China, Africa and Europe, when word reached him of Boston’s failed bid to deal him to Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo.
A fan relayed Rhim’s account point by point, including his report that the team told Brown “he would be dealt anyway.”
New details on the Boston Celtics and Jaylen Brown trade saga, per @krisrhim1
– Jaylen Brown was on a monthlong vacation that spanned China, Africa and Europe when he learned that the Celtics had tried to trade him to the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo
– JB let the Celtics know that despite the failed trade he was willing to remain in Boston, but the team informed him he would be dealt anyway
– As the Celtics continued to explore the trade market for Brown after the failed Antetokounmpo trade, Brown asked to have a say in where he was sent or at minimum be given a heads-up on the destination. But he learned he’d be going to the Sixers only after the deal was finalized
(https://t.co/bz9ftOXh3e)
— Fullcourtpass (@Fullcourtpass) November 10, 2026
While Boston shopped him after the Antetokounmpo talks collapsed, Brown wanted input on his next team, or at least notice before a deal was done, Rhim reported. He got neither, and found out about Philadelphia once the trade was complete. The Celtics sent him to the 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks (2028 and 2031) and two second-round picks (2028 and 2030).
The trade ended a Boston career that began when the Celtics drafted Brown third overall in 2016. He addressed the deal on his livestream the day after it was made:
“There was definitely a message being sent, and that message was received. I just wish the more to it could have been explained to me. I thought I earned respect enough to get that explanation, but obviously I was wrong.”
The Celtics declined to comment on Rhim’s story and pointed ESPN to past remarks by Brad Stevens about the deal. Speaking about the Brown-Tatum pairing in July, Stevens said:
“I think Jayson and Jaylen have had a remarkable partnership where they complemented each other great.”
Brown and Tatum spent nine seasons together in Boston and reached five Eastern Conference finals and two NBA Finals. They won the 2024 championship with Brown as Finals MVP, ending a 16-year title drought for the franchise.
Brown and Tatum first crossed paths after the deal at an October 10 preseason game in Boston. Both went through workouts on the floor, at times only an arm’s length apart, and neither acknowledged the other, ESPN reported.
Tatum had said in a video of his own that he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” by the trade, a claim Brown answered publicly last month. A day later, Tatum addressed the talk of a rift:
“There’s no beef. It’s not about that. … I understand drama gets clicks and views, but I’m not really into that.”
After Sunday’s 127-121 win over the Chicago Bulls, in which he scored 29 points, Brown waved off the question of what he planned to say to Tatum when the teams meet:
“It’s nothing to talk about. I mean, he’s on his side, I’m on my side. Just playing basketball. Both of us are trying to win, so it’s nothing to talk about. Just check the ball up.”
Brown now plays alongside Tyrese Maxey, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid. The 76ers go into the game 9-2 and first in the Eastern Conference, one spot ahead of the 8-2 Celtics.
Tipoff is at 8 p.m. ET at Xfinity Mobile Arena, and the game airs on NBC. Boston plays at the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, and Philadelphia hosts the Raptors on Thursday.
