{"id":897253,"date":"2026-10-28T07:02:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:02:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/897253\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T07:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T07:02:13","slug":"jaylen-browns-jabs-at-celtics-may-damage-his-boston-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/897253\/","title":{"rendered":"Jaylen Brown\u2019s jabs at Celtics may damage his Boston legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u22c5 Tweeting at Nike<\/a> \u201cthis what we\u2019re doing?\u201d after teammate Derrick White was added to the US men\u2019s Olympic basketball team \u2014 which is sponsored by the apparel company with which Brown has bickered \u2014 over him in July 2024.<\/p>\n

\u22c5 Sharing and acknowledging multiple social-media posts last season \u2014 while longtime running mate Jayson Tatum was enduring the physical and mental agony of rehabilitating his Achilles tendon \u2014 that indicated the Celtics were just as good without Tatum as they were with him the year before.<\/p>\n

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\u22c5 Most egregiously, calling last season the favorite of his career<\/a> hours after the Celtics bricked away a 3-1 lead and were bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the 76ers. <\/p>\n

Brown also is addicted to being cryptic, to casually stoking controversy and then acting like everyone else is making a big deal out of something he sparked. Again \u2026 tolerable when he\u2019s dropping 29 points a night for the very good basketball team that you care about.<\/p>\n

But when he\u2019s no longer on your team?<\/p>\n

It becomes annoying in a hurry. And potentially damaging to his perception, if not his Boston legacy.<\/p>\n

Brown, of course, is no longer in green, having been dealt to the rival 76ers<\/a> on July 1 in a seismic move that brought 36-year-old Paul George and four draft picks to the Celtics. The deal \u2014 especially the seemingly small return \u2014 rattled fans.<\/p>\n

George\u2019s strong and selfless play \u2014 hey, he is a nine-time All-Star \u2014 during the Celtics\u2019 2-1 start has helped a sizable portion of fans work through any lingering stages of grief over the deal. Brown\u2019s behavior is accelerating that process.<\/p>\n

Brown has acted since the trade like he\u2019s the only excellent player in NBA history to be dealt. That\u2019s led to various \u2014 here\u2019s that word again \u2014 cryptic and not-so-cryptic digs at the Celtics over the last few months.<\/p>\n

Those include suggesting that president of basketball operations Brad Stevens wasn\u2019t forthcoming with him when trade rumors, including the initial one that indicated the Celtics were willing to trade Brown for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/a>, began percolating. What did Brown want, to listen in on every trade negotiation?<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll spare you the full rehash of Brown\u2019s recent pettiness toward Tatum since it\u2019s well past tiresome. The Reader\u2019s Digest condensed version: In video clips detailing his summer<\/a> that dropped last week, Tatum said he was shocked by the trade. Brown responded on Instagram with a cap emoji, essentially calling Tatum a liar and indicating that Brown thinks Tatum knew about it.<\/p>\n

It also indirectly suggests Stevens is being dishonest, given that he said earlier this month that he has a strict rule against asking players about trading their teammates, explaining, \u201cI don\u2019t want to put them in that position.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tatum responded thoughtfully<\/a> after the Celtics\u2019 win over the champion Knicks last Friday night, essentially saying he wishes all they accomplished together in nine seasons as teammates should be the focus. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe should be celebrated. You know how many people played in this league and never went to the Finals? We went twice and won a championship, so it should be more about that,\u201d he said. \u201cLike, this ain\u2019t no [expletive] Shaq and Kobe. There\u2019s no beef.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"JaysonJayson Tatum (left) and Jaylen Brown led the Celtics to the NBA championship in 2024.Danielle Parhizkaran\/Globe Staff<\/p>\n

Brown, following the 76ers\u2019 win over the Bucks last Saturday night, kept the story alive in his unique and predictable way. He said some nice things about Tatum, noted he has a good PR team for some reason, then said, \u201cThere\u2019s no beef, but it might be a little lamb chops and some gravy,\u201d a line he liked so much that he repeated it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Brown will keep using those slights as his fuel, whether or not they\u2019re real. His stubbornness \u2014 that pride, that confidence \u2014 has helped him reach extraordinary heights. But it\u2019s going to prevent him from ever recognizing, let alone acknowledging, reality.<\/p>\n

The Celtics traded him in large part because the collective bargaining agreement makes it virtually impossible to build a true contender when two players have max contracts, especially when one of those players isn\u2019t quite worthy of such a deal.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if Brown, a vice president of the players association, had a clue that the punitive second apron in the CBA might lead to him and Tatum being broken up. But it\u2019s clear that he thinks he\u2019s the superior player, and the one the Celtics should have kept.<\/p>\n

He is not the one they should have kept. He\u2019s shorter, older, has a less-diverse offensive game<\/a>, and does not rebound, defend, or pass as well \u2014 especially pass.<\/p>\n

He is better at one thing, I suppose: those petty, cryptic social-media games.<\/p>\n

If you ask me, though, his little jabs at the Celtics are a pretty lame way to follow up his favorite season.<\/p>\n

Chad Finn can be reached at chad.finn@globe.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n