Jayson Tatum Talks Controversial Trade Rumors About Himself, Jaylen Brown, Celtics

Boston Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown dealt with widespread speculation earlier in the season about potentially splitting them up, but Tatum said that only motivated the players to stick together:

"Instead of separating, we became closer," Tatum said of his relationship with Brown.

Boston is headed to the NBA Finals after defeating the Miami Heat in seven games, but it struggled earlier in the season and had an 18-21 record in January. Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com reported Brown could seek a trade if things didn't turn around.

During the team's early season struggles, Brown was asked whether the partnership with Tatum could work. 

"I think we can play together," Brown told reporters in January. "We have played together well for the majority of our career and things like that. The last year or so hasn't gone as expected, but I think a lot of the adversity that we're kind of going through now is going to help us grow and get better in the future."

Brown and Tatum have spent five years together on the Celtics, each earning All-Star selections in 2020-21. The team was still disappointing last year, finishing 36-36 before a first-round playoff loss.

After another slow start, questions grew about whether this duo could be leaders on a title team.

Despite the outside noise, the Celtics reportedly had "no interest' in splitting up Tatum and Brown, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. 

Boston stayed the course, and the squad is now heading to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010.