Jayson Tatum has now said publicly what most of New England has been muttering for two weeks. Speaking with ESPN at the ESPY Awards this week, the Boston Celtics star addressed the trade that sent Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers for the first time. “If I’m being transparent, it’s weird,” Tatum said.
The two shared a locker room for all nine of Tatum’s NBA seasons. Brown was already in Boston when Tatum arrived in 2017, and together they reached two Finals and hung banner No. 18 in 2024 — the most successful wing pairing the franchise has ever built. On July 6 it ended, with Brown headed to the 76ers and Paul George and four draft picks coming back.
Tatum acknowledged the business reality of the deal while making room for what it costs. “There’s still a human element of it that you feel those emotions, the city feels those emotions,” he said, “but there’s also a side that we have to welcome our teammates with open arms and we still have to attack the new season.”
The comments complete a circuit of public reckoning that began when Joe Mazzulla spoke in Las Vegas — the coach said he was “still processing” — and continues a pattern worth noting from the front office’s perspective: Brad Stevens consulted neither his head coach nor his best player before reshaping the roster around that best player. Tatum’s measured tone suggests he accepts the arrangement. It is his team now, without qualification, and the franchise’s 19th banner is his to chase with George as the bridge and four picks as the restock.
Philadelphia opens Summer League play against Milwaukee on Saturday night, but the real curiosity arrives in the fall, when Brown faces Boston for the first time in another uniform — the same Sixers franchise that eliminated the Celtics from the first round in April.
For fantasy purposes, Tatum’s comments reinforce the offseason’s central Boston thesis: the offense now runs through him to a degree it never has. Brown’s departure leaves roughly 20 field-goal attempts per game to redistribute, and Tatum is the first claimant — a genuine top-three-pick case in redraft leagues. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard should also see usage bumps, while George remains a health-dependent value pick later in drafts.
