10/23/2026 11:24:00
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10/23 23:22 CDT Jayson Tatum vents over Jaylen Brown's 'cap' post as Celtics
win overshadowed by trade drama talk
Jayson Tatum vents over Jaylen Brown's 'cap' post as Celtics win overshadowed
by trade drama talk
By KYLE HIGHTOWER
AP Sports Writer
BOSTON (AP) --- Jayson Tatum should have been breaking down the nuances of his
36-point performance in Celtics' 107-103 win over the defending champion New
York Knicks.
Instead he spent most of his postgame news conference on Friday night
addressing Jaylen Brown's social media response that took issue with 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 Philadelphia 76ers this
summer.
Brown responded on his Instagram account with a baseball cap emoji. "Cap" is
slang for something that is not true. Asked if he had any response, Tatum
sighed before expressing his frustrations with the entire situation for several
minutes.
"I don't have any animosity or beef, or ill will towards him. I think the
toughest part is since he's not on 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. It's turned into this
drama type of thing."
Tatum said while he understands there is an entertainment aspect to
professional sports and that speculation about their off-court relationship is
part of that, he was exasperated with how everything has lingered in recent
months.
"I'm not blaming anybody for how they feel," Tatum said. "We all go through
different things in our lives. ... People play this game and never got the
finals. We did it twice and won a championship. It should be more about that.
This ain't no Shaq and Kobe. There's no beef."
Both players have spoken glowingly at times about how they grew and thrived
together during their nine years together as teammates.
But it's morphed into something else since the Celtics chose Tatum as the
player they want to build around after trading Brown in what amounted to a move
to cut one of the two players with $300 million contracts from the payroll.
"It's turned into this drama type of thing," Tatum said. "I've got two kids. I
reached out the day he got traded. I called, I texted. And I understand, people
process things differently. So, for me at this point in our lives, we are too
old to be having our relationship discussed and X, Y and Z on the internet.
There's a conversation to be had and we can definitely have that conversation.
I welcome that, right?
"I've always wanted the best for him and wished the best for him. I've always
publicly said those things."
Tatum also lamented how social media has fueled it.
"I've seen all these things like, ?Get your popcorn ready when they play.' This
ain't no (expletive) boxing match. Play basketball. There's no animosity.
There's no beef. I just hate the way the conversation and narrative around it
inflamed it. There's not enough communication. I think conversation would solve
and put out a lot of fires."
Tatum also doesn't believe the conversation --- if there is one --- would be
negative.
"He's just turned 30. I'm 28. I've got two kids. As adults, it's a
conversation. I'm not saying it's a bad one or anything like that. Just
communication usually gets to right (or) wrong, you'll understand the other
side."
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