Brown met with the media in Philadelphia for the first time on Thursday.
Speaking with the media in Philadelphia on Thursday for the first time since being traded from the Boston Celtics in early July, Jaylen Brown said he was bothered the entire process of being dealt from the only professional city he's ever played in, but he declined to offer specifics.
Instead, Brown opted to say how focused he is on the future and that that's where all his energy is going. He said maybe someday he'll talk about the story, but he had no interest in doing that on this day.
At the end of the day, only Brown and the Basketball Operations people know the full story, and we're all left wondering, though ESPN did do some reporting on this right after the trade.
What would be proper in this case
Brown has spent his entire 10-year career with the Celtics, accomplishing an awful lot. The former No. 3 pick in the draft, he's a five-time All-Star and a two-time All-NBA player. He finished sixth in the MVP voting this past season after averaging 28.7 ppg, carrying the Celtics to a 56-26 record.
He also helped the C's win the 2023-24 NBA championship, earning NBA Finals MVP honors in the process.
For a player of his stature, the proper thing to do was to bring him in, in person, and explain to him all the scenarios that were possibly at play.
1) Brad Stevens could have shut down all potential trade rumors, simply telling Brown that he wasn't going anywhere because he was too valued to the organization.
2) Stevens could have told Brown that they were willing to listen on trade offers, but it wasn't necessarily a reflection of how they felt about Brown, it was more of a realization of something else.
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) shoots against Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey (0) during the second quarter at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Bill Streicher-Imagn ImagesA) Perhaps the team felt it was too dependent on the three-point shot and they wanted to bring in players who would help re-make the team, and they needed the financial flexibility to be able to do that.
B) Perhaps the team felt it needed additional financial flexibility moving forward, and they were interested in bringing in players who could allow that to happen sooner, which is the case with the acquisition of Paul George.
None of these things would feel good to hear if you are Brown, who undoubtedly feels that he's owed more by the organization he helped take to the next level, but athletes tend to appreciate honesty.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Brown feels he didn't get the kind of honesty and transparency that he deserved.
But again, we'll never know.
