NBA star Jaylen Brown is just two years removed from leading the Boston Celtics to the NBA championship. But now, after multiple failed seasons, he’s officially a Sixer in a shocking deal that will take time to fully measure.
For his part, Brown has already made a statement thanking the organization, but he didn’t go on stream until tonight. Today, with the community buzzing with reactions, he spoke on camera for the first time since his big move, and he did not mince words about the challenges involved.
“For the last 10 years, I’ve been programmed to hate Philadelphia, from the history of the rivalry to the playoff battles, the process, like I’ve been programmed to be like f—k the process,” said Brown. “It’s funny now, I gotta reverse engineer, and that’s the part that’s going to take some time. But I’ll be ready before the season starts. They packed me up, chat. Boston, they packed me up. Still processing how this all went down. I’m excited and disappointed at the same time.”
Brown, 29, played for a decade with the Celtics, leading them to two Finals and one championship, averaging 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game on 47.7% shooting from the field and 34.7% shooting from three. He gave his all to the franchise, and he felt there was more to accomplish, but he has no regrets about how it went down.
“I put my heart into this city,” Brown said. “Because that’s what I said I would do when I got drafted. ‘I’m gonna go to war for this city.’ And I feel like that’s what I did. We got a championship. I felt like we could’ve got more, but I understand. I’m just grateful for my experience.”
Across the league, there’s still major confusion on why the Celtics were so focused on trading Brown now. For Jaylen, the most upsetting part is how team President Brad Stevens handled the process. He offered Brown in several trade talks, and all the rumors had the veteran star feeling mighty disrespected.
“I’m still processing everything, so give me some time,” Brown continued. “But I will say, there was a message being sent, and that message was received. I wasn’t thrilled with the amount of respect, and I was shocked during this process. I think there was a lack of respect, and then out of nowhere things kinda went left. I think Brad Stevens is probably getting a lot of the criticism. I wasn’t thrilled with the way he facilitated some of the conversations, but there’s definitely more to it.”
Looking ahead, Brown feels optimistic about this new opportunity. Under these circumstances, it would be easy for him to demand special treatment, but he wants to prove himself and earn his place at the top. The process starts now, and he’s already hard at work to bring the glory days back to Philadelphia.
“I don’t want no special treatment, I don’t need no handouts,” Brown added. “I plan on earning my respect one day at a time by putting in the work. I’m looking forward to getting in the gym, the whole process… The process is back the fuck on. We been shutting the process down for the last I don’t know how many years. The process been over. But now the process is back mothaf***a.”
The vibes are starting off strong in Philly, and it’s a drastic shift from the scene Brown just left. As his exit became a certainty, reports began to surface of what caused the Celtics to turn on their star. One claim even accused Brown of acting like the “smartest person in the room,” a sentiment which he didn’t deny…
“No offense to everybody in sports, but the bar is f**kin’ low,” Brown said.
It sounds like Jaylen hasn’t quite moved on from his latest career development, and it’s understandable. After so long with one team, he’s still caught up in the past, and it’s going to take time to adjust to the new surroundings. Fortunately, Jaylen has enough time to be ready for opening night, which will feature him in his new threads alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and V.J. Edgecombe.
