Jaylen Brown Addresses Jayson Tatum 'Beef,' Warns Celtics Star Playfully After 76ers Trade

Jaylen Brown commented on his relationship with former teammate Jayson Tatum after the Boston Celtics traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers during the offseason.

"I saw that he said, 'It's no beef.' And I think he's right, there's no beef," Brown told reporters Saturday (0:11 mark). "Jayson comes from a wonderful family, we've accomplished some great things, he's a hell of a basketball player and he's got a great PR team. It's no beef, but it might be little lamb chops and some gravy, you know what I mean? He should stay ready at all times."

"That's what it is," he added. "There's no beef, it should never ever be that. It's just basketball. We're both blessed. But it might be a little lamb chop. We'll be alright."

Boston sent Brown to Philadelphia while receiving Paul George, two first-round draft picks and two second-round picks in a July 1 trade.

Tatum said that he was "just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world" regarding the swap in a video posted to his YouTube channel on Thursday.

"Shams walks over," Tatum explained. "He hands me the towel. He's like, 'Yo, put this over your face. Don't react. They just traded him.' I'm like, 'Oh, s--t.' I'm like, 'Where?' He said, 'Philly.' I said, 'We traded him down the street?'"

Brown responded to the video with a cap emoji, however.

Still, Tatum explained that there wasn't any hostility between them.

"For me, I understand we're in the entertainment business," Tatum told reporters on Friday. "Me personally, I'm not much of an off the court entertainer type of guy. 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 conversations haven't been enough about what we've accomplished. All the games we've won, winning a championship, how we've grown together. It's turned into this drama type of thing."

"This ain't no f--king Shaq and Kobe," he added.

In July, ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the relationship between Brown and Tatum outside of basketball was "as close to non-existent as you could have" throughout the year prior to the trade.

During the 2025-26 season, Brown took over as Boston's top scoring option while Tatum recovered from a torn Achilles. Tatum was able to return before the end of the regular season, although the Celtics ultimately fell in the first round of the playoffs.

Brown and Tatum still experienced immense success during their nine-year tenure as teammates, quickly blossoming into stars and leading Boston on several deep playoff runs.

They each played key roles on the Celtics' 2024 championship squad that went 64-18 in regular season before posting a 16-3 record in the playoffs.

There doesn't appear to be any off-court animosity between Brown and Tatum, although the former is looking forward to their first regular-season meeting as opponents.

Boston will travel to face Philadelphia on Nov. 10.