Amid several reports that said Brown didn’t request a trade and that Boston actually thought Derrick White was the best player on the 2025-26 roster, an already motivated Brown now has an even larger chip on his shoulder after the Celtics dealt him away.
“The message was received,” Brown said. “I wasn’t thrilled with the amount of respect that was shown throughout this process. I think there was a bit of a lack of respect. I think it was fine at one point, then out of nowhere, things just went left. I think Brad [Stevens] is getting a lot of the criticism. I wasn’t thrilled with the way he facilitated some of the conversations.”
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After the Celtics fell short in their pursuit of Giannis Antetokounmpo — Brown was the centerpiece of Boston’s trade package — Stevens was noncommittal when asked about Brown’s future in Boston.
“Jaylen Brown is a big part of us,” Stevens said. “I’m never going to predict the future, but every indication, everything that I think about over the past few years has been building around those guys, right? So obviously, you never know. But at the same time, the one thing I want to make very clear is how valued he’s always been.”
“He’s been amazing. He’s been an amazing teammate, a great person to be around. And whether that run ends 10 years from now when he retires, or before, there’s a lot to celebrate. We have a great relationship, an open relationship where we talk about everything. But I don’t want to predict the future. I look at it as, this is our team.”
Stevens traded Brown to the 76ers on Wednesday in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks. The deal was widely criticized.
For Brown, the most puzzling aspect was the lack of an explanation.
“I definitely think there’s more to it,” Brown said. “I just wish that more to it could’ve been explained to me. Because I think if more to it was explained, I would’ve understood. I thought I earned the respect to get that explanation. But hey, obviously, I was wrong. That’s life. You move on.”
Brown will now join a 76ers team that, with Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and V. J. Edgecombe already in place, could be poised to leapfrog Boston in the Eastern Conference.
“I don’t want [any] special treatment, I don’t need no handouts … I plan on earning my respect one day at a time by putting in the work,” Brown said of playing for Philadelphia. “I’m looking forward to getting in the gym, the whole process.”
“The hard part is, the last 10 years, I’ve been programmed to hate Philadelphia. The history of the rivalry, the playoff battles … I’ve been programmed to think like, ‘[Expletive] The Process’. It’s funny, now I’ve got to reverse-engineer it. But I’ll be ready to go by the time the season starts.”
Conor Ryan can be reached at conor.ryan@globe.com.
