Jaylen Brown’s representative has denied that the Philadelphia 76ers star demanded a trade from the Boston Celtics or presented the organization with a list of demands before his departure this offseason, calling the claims “10000% a lie,” ESPN’s Kris Rhim reported.
The dispute followed comments from former NBA player and current NBC Sports Boston analyst Brian Scalabrine, who said Monday that Brown had requested a trade, presented Boston with demands and wanted to be traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.
“I think Jaylen Brown lives in his own reality. But because it wasn’t being documented that he demanded to be traded, then I don’t think that anybody, anybody thinks that, that he could—now, he could say that it was Tatum’s fault. Like, he could just make stuff up,” Scalabrine said.
“But my understanding is Jaylen Brown went to the organization and had a list of demands. And it was like, ‘You either do this or you trade me.’ And he was rooting to get traded to Milwaukee, including calling some other teammates about, ‘Hey, man, what do you think of Milwaukee? We should go there.’”
According to Brown’s representative, the forward never requested a trade to Milwaukee. After a potential deal involving Giannis Antetokounmpo fell through and Boston informed Brown that he would be traded anyway, his only request was to have input on his destination.
The representative also said Brown wanted himself and Jayson Tatum to be treated equally during their time together in Boston.
Scalabrine subsequently clarified his comments before the Celtics’ game against the Chicago Bulls on Monday, acknowledging that Brown did not technically demand a trade while maintaining that he had presented the organization with demands.
“I don’t know what the ultimatum was or the demands or whatever it was,” Scalabrine said. He added that a $140 million contract extension might have been among the demands, but admitted he had not established the specifics.
Boston traded Brown to Philadelphia on July 6, receiving Paul George, first-round picks in 2028 and 2031, and second-round selections in 2028 and 2030.
The trade has also intensified public discussion about Brown’s relationship with Tatum, his former teammate for nine seasons. The pair helped Boston reach five Eastern Conference finals and two NBA Finals, winning the 2024 championship against the Dallas Mavericks.
Tatum recently said he was caught off guard by Brown’s departure, prompting Brown to post a blue hat emoji on Instagram, a symbol commonly associated with calling someone a liar. Tatum subsequently denied any animosity and said he would welcome a direct conversation.
Brown, however, appeared less interested in addressing the situation immediately.
“We both got so much stuff in front of us,” Brown said, explaining that each player needed to focus on his current team. He also maintained that there was no serious feud, while joking that there might be “a little lamb chops and some gravy.”
Brown is averaging 20.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists through four games with Philadelphia this season.
