It has been a few days since the Boston Celtics traded Jaylen Brown for Paul George and a bunch of future draft picks, and Jayson Tatum admitted he has yet to fully process the team’s decision to part ways with Brown, with whom he has spent the first nine years of his NBA career.
During a sit-down interview on Tuesday to promote his new children’s book, Tatum spoke at length about Brown’s departure, calling it “weird” since Brown will now play for one of the Celtics’ biggest rivals.
“You play on a team with a guy for nine years. I was fortunate enough to go to the Finals with him twice, and win a championship, and push each other to be the players that we are today,” Tatum said via SB Nation’s Noa Dalzell. “The NBA is an incredible business; it’s an incredible job, but there are some downsides to the business and moments like this, where you just kind of feel like you’re going to be on the team with somebody, because that’s all you know. And then it’s just like, one day you find out that they’re no longer on your team anymore.”
“It’s tough. But it just makes you appreciate the moments and time that we had. Obviously, it came to an abrupt ending, but it doesn’t mean that it wasn’t super successful. Great years, obviously, that he gave to the city and to the organization,” he continued.
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Jaylen Brown’s mom reacts to moving from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers
The Jaylen Brown trade hurts the Boston Celtics not only for his on-court contributions, but also for what he has done for the community in the past few years. According to his mom, Mechalle, Jaylen will continue his foundation work in the city despite his trade to the Philadelphia 76ers.
“I think emotionally, like, you know, it’s sad. It’s sad to know it’s time for us to go. (But) we’re still always be here in Boston, we’ll still help,” the elder Brown said. “We’ll have a definite connection with MIT and other resources here because this is the blueprint.”
“We loved Boston. Boston loved us. We’re sad to go, but we know we’ll continue that deep connection with all that you do here and the deep resources,” she added.
