Jaylen Brown Adds Fuel to Jayson Tatum Speculation: 'He Should Stay Ready'
The 76ers guard, now in Philadelphia, commented on his relationship with his former Celtics teammate.
Philadelphia 76ers guard Jaylen Brown reignited speculation surrounding his relationship with former Boston Celtics teammate Jayson Tatum, stating that while there's no "beef," Tatum "should stay ready at all times." Brown made these remarks following the 76ers' 127-116 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
"I didn’t see the full thing, but I saw that he said it’s no beef, and I think he’s right," Brown said regarding Tatum's recent comments. "There’s no beef. Jayson comes from a wonderful family. We’ve accomplished some great things. He’s hell of a basketball player. He’s got a great PR team. There’s no beef, but it might be a little lamb chops and some gravy. He should stay ready at all times."
When pressed for clarification on his "lamb chops and gravy" comment, Brown simply stated, "That’s what it is." He further elaborated, "No beef. It should never, ever be that. It’s just basketball. We both blessed. But it might be a little lamb chop. We’ll be alright."
The exchange originated from Brown's comment on an episode of Tatum's series, "The Sit Down." The episode detailed Tatum's reaction to learning of Brown's trade to Philadelphia during the offseason, where Tatum expressed being "caught off guard as the rest of the world." Brown responded to the post with a blue cap emoji.
Tatum addressed Brown's comment during a postgame press conference after a Celtics win, stating the situation was "ain’t no f–king Shaq and Kobe." He emphasized his discomfort with the narrative turning into drama, preferring the focus to remain on their shared accomplishments, including a championship in 2024, and their growth together.
"I understand we’re in the entertainment business. Me personally, I’m not much of an off-the-court entertainer type of guy," Tatum, 28, said. "For me, I don’t have any animosity or beef or ill will towards him. I think the frustrating part is, since he’s not with the Celtics anymore, the narrative or the conversations haven’t been enough about what we accomplished. All the games we won, winning a championship, how we’ve grown together. And it’s turned into this drama type of thing."
Tatum added, "I’ve seen all these things about ‘get your popcorn ready when they play.’ This ain’t no f–king boxing match. I play basketball. Again, there’s no animosity. There's no beef. I just hate the way the conversation and the narrative around it when there’s not enough communication. And I think a conversation would solve or put out a lot of fires."
After Saturday's game, Brown deflected questions about whether his emoji comment indicated Tatum was being untruthful about the events in Boston. "Hey, look, like I said, there’s no beef. The PR and all that type of stuff, it is what it is. But I think we’re just both focused on what’s in front of us," the 30-year-old said.
Brown was drafted third overall by the Celtics in 2016, with Tatum also selected third overall the following year. Together, they led the team to four Eastern Conference Finals appearances, two NBA Finals berths, and a championship in 2024, with Brown earning Finals MVP honors.
When asked about reconciling differences or having a conversation with Tatum, Brown indicated it was not a priority. "We both got so much stuff in front of us. So, you know, at the end of the day, he gotta do what he gotta do for his team. I gotta do what I gotta do for my team," he stated.
The 76ers are scheduled to host the Celtics for their first matchup of the season on November 10th.