The lingering silence between the two cornerstones of a championship core has captured the NBA world’s attention. The blockbuster trade that sent Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics to the Philadelphia 76ers for Paul George underscores the nine seasons the forward shared with Jayson Tatum as teammates. When Brown revealed that he and Jayson Tatum have had virtually zero communication since the monumental trade went down in July, another Celtics legend pulled the veil on what that really implies.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
During his introductory press conference with the 76ers on Thursday, Brown was asked point-blank if he had spoken to Tatum since the deal. His terse response — “Uh, not really” — cut deep for fans of the duo that brought the 18th banner to the franchise. But former Celtics champion and the most notorious commentator on the ‘Double Jays’ duo, Kendrick Perkins, had a fiery response on NBA Today.
“Duh. Like, is anybody shocked? Anybody shocked?” Perkins told his ESPN colleagues. “Like everyone knew that they wasn’t the best of friends, that they didn’t hang out outside the basketball lines, but to say that they hadn’t communicated in no form since he’s been traded, a guy that you won a championship that was, you know, one of the better duos in the NBA is kind of… it’s really alarming.”
Perk highlighted the internal fractures within the organization.
“It started to, you know, more questions and… that I want to know, like, as far as what was the real relationship with Jaylen Brown in the entire Celtic organization, because Jayson Tatum didn’t come in the middle and say, ‘Hey, let’s stop this.’ And, as a matter of fact, Jayson Tatum basically says it’s time to move on. So again, you hate to see a relationship end this way… But the fact that Jaylen Brown feels some type of way, and I know he do, is scary for the rest of the league because I guarantee you this young man has a chip on his shoulder.”
Drafted No. 3 overall in back-to-back years (2016 and 2017), Brown and Tatum spent nine seasons navigating intense media scrutiny, including Perkins questioning their chemistry. The aftermath: the duo won the 2024 NBA Championship; Perk was estranged from the Celtics, so he wasn’t invited to the parade; and then the front office abruptly pivoted after JT’s injury.
The total radio silence between the stars marks a bitter end to an incredibly decorated era in Boston. For nearly a decade, the “Jays” made the Celtics a perennial contender.
But former Celtics teammate Grant Williams recently defended their dynamic on SiriusXM NBA Radio, comparing it to the historic Shaq and Kobe feud:
“I don’t think those guys disliked each other at all.”
Maybe they weren’t buddy-buddy like Perk, who’s campaigning to have an ’08 reunion, wanted. Yet Brown emphasized, “On my end, there’s nothing but respect for Jayson and the time we played together in Boston. I’m going to root for him, except for when he’s playing against the Sixers.”
Now established in a star-studded Philadelphia lineup, Brown acknowledged the complex legacy he left in Boston. “We won a championship together. Anybody that you win a championship with, you would think that’s what a brotherhood or a lifelong legacy would entail. Obviously, there are ups and downs in any relationship, for sure. But on my end, it’s nothing but respect.”
