Celtics a star Jason Tatum on Thursday spoke directly about Jaylen Brown in an interview for the first time since his longtime former teammate was traded to Philadelphia in July, writes Mike Prado of The Athletic.
An appearance on The Dan Patrick Show (Link to video on Twitter), Tatum was asked about the biggest public misconception about his relationship with Brown. The 28-year-old forward noted that there were “so many different opinions and assumptions” about their time as teammates, but Tatum didn’t praise Brown.
“For me, I love this guyTatum said.What we’ve been able to do together in nine years — we’ve been to the conference finals five times, we’ve been to the championship game twice, we’ve won a championship, we’ve been to an All-Star game together — you can’t talk about him without talking about me, and vice versa.
“… Unfortunately, the business of basketball will always play a role“, Tatum added.No one ever played together forever. But this is not something to be sad or upset about. It’s a matter of celebrating what we’ve been able to do.
“He is a great person and player. I have received nothing but respect and wish him the best.”
Here’s more from Boston:
- Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens spoke with Frank Isola and Brian Scalabrine SiriusXM NBA Radio’s “Starting Lineup” Show on Friday. Topics included the decision to trade Brown for Pavel George and project assets (Link to video on Twitter), if Tatum is fully healthy before training camp, and what Stevens thinks about the team entering the 2026-27 season (Twitter references via Bobby Manning of CLNS Media). As for Tatum, Stevens reportedly said, “Of course, it looks like (he is healthy). We are lucky. A lot of our guys have been in the gym … he’s probably here as much as anyone … he sets a great example for everyone and looks really good.”
- The Celtics’ new center Mitchell Robinson was not present at an introductory news conference on Tuesday for undisclosed personal reasons. The team ruled it an excused absence. According to Eric Nehm of The AthleticRobinson clarified in an Instagram video Wednesday that he missed Tuesday’s presser because his younger brother was hit by a car that morning.
- On the same pressing, veteran guard Mike Conley talked about why he was signed to the Celtics as a free agent and what he will bring to the team this season, for Adam Himselsbach of the Boston Globe (subscriber link). “Leadership is the one thing I know I can bring and the urgency that even me and Paul have to bring to this team as two guys who haven’t had a chance to win a championship yet.” said Conley.So it’s a sense of urgency that maybe renews that the guys that have already won, continue to push them every day and continue to show them how we want to win in practice and try to carry that over into the games.”
- What can Conley bring to the Celtics as he enters his 20th NBA season? Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston spoke to his colleagues to find out their answers to this question, with the most common answer being leadership.
