Jaylen Brown didn’t leave much room for mystery on Thursday: he and Jayson Tatum haven’t really talked since Brown was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers on July 1.
That came out during Brown’s introductory news conference with Philadelphia, when a reporter asked whether he and Tatum had connected after the deal. Brown’s answer was short and plain.
“Not really,” Brown responded.
He also made clear that the silence doesn’t come from bad blood. Brown said he doesn’t dislike Tatum, and he pointed back to everything the two accomplished together in Boston, including the 2024 championship.
“On my end, there’s nothing but respect for Jayson and the time we played together in Boston,” Brown said. “I’m going to root for him, except for when he’s playing against the Sixers.”
Brown and Tatum spent nine seasons as teammates with the Celtics and became the kind of wing duo every contender wants: long, skilled, and good enough to keep Boston in the title hunt year after year. They were the bookend small forwards at the center of one of the league’s best teams across that stretch.
In the end, the Celtics’ finances - and the threat of crossing the NBA’s second apron - made it hard to imagine keeping them together for their entire careers. Still, the pairing left a real mark, helping Boston stay in the championship mix season after season.
Brown’s own 2024-25 season only added to the spotlight around him. With Tatum out for most of the regular season because of an Achilles injury, Brown took a bigger scoring load, averaged more than 28 points per game, and powered the Celtics to 56 wins and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. He also earned second-team All-NBA honors and finished sixth in MVP voting.
Now the relationship between the two stars is set to play out in a new setting. Matchups between the Sixers and Celtics should draw plenty of attention this season, especially with Brown and Tatum likely to spend a lot of time matched up against one another. And with Brown the one who was moved out of Boston, there’s no question he’ll be carrying extra edge into those games.
In Other News...
Josh Hart And Mitchell Robinson Still Define What Knicks Fans Loved
Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson may be wearing different uniforms now, but the bond that formed during their time with the Knicks still feels like part of the franchise's recent identity. Robinson, now with the Celtics, was quick to show support for Hart after a fan post on social media, a small reminder that the appreciation between the two players never really left with the roster turnover.
For Knicks fans, it is the kind of connection that lingers after a championship run, especially when the players involved helped define the team's edge on both ends of the floor. Robinson brought the rebounding and rim protection that made him such a force, while Hart carved out his value with the energy and versatility that translated so well in New York and continues to matter with his new team. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Face A Deuce McBride Decision With Bigger Implications
The Knicks have a small but meaningful roster decision looming with Deuce McBride, and the timing matters more than it might at first glance. They have until Aug. 11 to work out an extension, a move that would give them added flexibility with one of their young guards and keep the contract picture cleaner as the franchise continues sorting out its backcourt future.
If New York lets the date pass, the path to a new deal gets more complicated, and the ripple effects could reach beyond just McBrides next paycheck. The front office has to weigh not only what he means on the floor, but also how an extension might shape his trade value and what kind of long-term leverage the Knicks want to preserve around a player who has become part of the teams larger planning. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks May Regret This Lakers Salary Dump Sooner Than Expected
The Knicks draft-night maneuver with the Lakers was built around salary cap management, a familiar kind of front-office calculus that often looks tidy in June and gets judged much later. In the deal, New York sent out its 2026 first-round pick and Cameron Carr, the 24th overall pick out of Baylor, after Carr had backed up his stock with a strong college season and a productive Summer League showing.
Carr now lands in a Lakers situation where opportunity is never guaranteed, even for a first-round pick. One anonymous Lakers executive suggested the rookie will have to earn his minutes, but the larger question for the Knicks is whether this was the kind of asset dump that becomes harder to defend if Carr keeps building on the momentum he created this spring and summer. [Read more 🡒]