‘10000% A Lie’: Rep For Philadelphia 76ers Star Jaylen Brown Denies Report He Demanded Trade From Boston Celtics
PHILADELPHIA — A representative for Philadelphia 76ers star Jaylen Brown told Kris Rhim of ESPN that Brian Scalabrine‘s report about Brown demanding a trade from the Boston Celtics is “10000% a lie.”
The Celtics traded Brown to the 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks (2028, 2031) and two second-round selections (2028, 2030) this offseason.
Brown is making $57.1 million this season. He signed a five-year, $285 million extension with the Celtics in 2023.
One year later, Boston won the championship against the Dallas Mavericks in five games, with Brown winning Finals MVP.
Brown averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists per game for the Celtics last season. Boston won 56 games and was the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs despite Jayson Tatum missing the first 62 games of the regular season recovering from his Achilles tendon tear.
A five-time All-Star, Brown put up 25.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game in the Celtics-76ers 2026 first-round playoff series. Tatum didn’t play in Game 7, and Boston blew a 3-1 series lead to Philadelphia.
What Did Scalabrine Say?
Scalabrine, who works for NBC Sports Boston, said Brown requested a trade from the Celtics, had a list of demands and was “rooting to be traded to Milwaukee.”
Boston tried to trade Brown to the Brooklyn Nets for Kevin Durant in 2022 and offered the 2024 Finals MVP to the Milwaukee Bucks this offseason for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was traded to the Miami Heat.
Scalabrine walked back his initial comments ahead of the Celtics’ game against the Chicago Bulls on Monday (10/26), stating Brown didn’t “technically demand to be traded.”
Scalabrine, though, reiterated that Brown came to the Celtics with a list of demands.
“I don’t know what the ultimatum was or the demands or whatever it was,” Scalabrine said. “So technically, he did not demand to be traded. It was, ‘Do these things right here or else.’ And one of them might have been, ‘Give me the $140 million extension.’
“I haven’t gotten to the bottom of all that. I didn’t even know this was going to be a thing. It’s one of those things that lived in my mind for months. I finally used it because we were talking about the weirdest stuff, and now it’s out there.”
Brown finished his Celtics career with averages of 20.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in the regular season and 19.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game in the playoffs.
Beef Between Tatum And Brown?
Brown created a stir on social media by posting a blue hat emoji — a symbol for “cap,” which is slang for someone lying — on Instagram in response to Tatum saying in a video on his YouTube channel that he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” by Brown’s trade to the 76ers.
Many people believe Brown and Tatum had beef and that Tatum played a role in the Brown trade.
“There’s no beef. It’s not about that. It should be more praise,” Tatum said after the Celtics beat the New York Knicks on October 23. “I understand drama gets clicks and views, but I’m not really into that. I’m not blaming everybody for how they feel. Everybody is entitled to their own feelings, and we all go through different things in our lives.”
Brown had a different tenor after the 76ers defeated the Bucks on October 24.
“We both got so much stuff in front of us,” Brown said. “So at the end of the day … he got to do what he’s got to do for his team. I got to do what I do for my team. Jayson’s a great guy. Like I said, great family, hell of a basketball player, hell of a PR team. There’s no beef, but it’ll be a little lamb chop. … He should stay ready at all times.”
The 76ers host the Celtics on November 10.
