Speaking on a podcast this week, now-former Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown made an interesting revelation about his early days in Boston, saying that not all the veteran players on the roster were truly welcoming to him as a rookie.

He cited Gerald Green as being someone who actually helped him and encouraged him, telling him that he had a chance to be great.

Here's more of what you need to know.

The full comments can be heard here, via WEEI in Boston, but essentially, Brown said that when he first arrived in Boston after the 2016 NBA Draft, there were a lot of wing players that were competing for time.

Therefore, that competition led to some veterans that weren't particularly helpful to Brown. He said that they acted like they were helping him, but they really weren't, because Brown was "taking their minutes."

I don't think you should really take them any specific way, honestly. They are just Brown's recollection of events, and since he lived them, I'll trust what he's saying. And let's also examine the factors here.

1) In the NBA, every single player has a goal to get established. Being established earns you contracts, which earn you money, and money helps you take care of your family. So, every single player in the league has individual goals.

It's completely relatable that older players who are fighting for that establishment and those dolalrs are not giddy about helping the young kid who has been drafted to replace them. It happens in every sport. Joe Flacco famously said that it wasn't his job to mentor a quarterback that the Denver Broncos drafted, and Tom Brady famously didn't go out of his way to help Jimmy Garappolo with the New England Patriots, either.

2) That said, there's "not helping," and there's "sabotaging." And while Brown didn't say that anyone sabotaged him, we're just making the point that that's over the line. The NBA is a fraternity, and while you need to be protective of your own career, you can't be working to tear down someone else's.

3) It is also commonplace for rookies to latch onto veterans and vise versa. While not everyone is cut out to be a "veteran mentor," players always remember those that were. That's what Gerald Green did for Brown, evidently.

Now 40 years old, Green spent 12 years in the NBA with the Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, New Jersey Nets, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat and Houston Rockets.

He was with the Celtics twice (2005-2007) and then again in 2016-17, Brown's rookie year. That season, he played in 47 games for Boston, averaging about 11 minutes a night. He scored 5.6 ppg. For his career, he averaged 9.7. His career high was 15.8 with Phoenix in 2013-14.

The Celtics went 53-29 that season, losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. That was the season that Isaiah Thomas averaged 28.9 ppg. He was ultimately traded for Kyrie Irving following the year.