Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens shut down speculation Wednesday that there was a growing rift between him and star forward Jaylen Brown. Four days after his team was bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers, Stevens was asked about comments made by Hall of Famer Tracy McGrady, who claimed on his podcast that the 2024 Finals MVP’s “frustrations” came from within the organization.
“He has not expressed those frustrations to me,” Stevens said. Instead, the Celtics president said, his talk with Brown on Monday was “nothing but positive.”
Brown has been in the headlines since being ousted from the playoffs for comments he made on a Twitch livestream, in which he called out Sixers superstar Joel Embiid for flopping. The league fined Brown $50,000 for his comments, categorizing it as “public criticism of the officiating.”
While Stevens said he hasn’t heard of complaints from Brown, he noted that he’s open to any conversation a player wants to have.
“We’ve been here 10 years together, and I do think that — obviously I love JB,” Stevens said. “Everybody around here loves JB, and I think — just like any of our other guys, as we get to the end of the season — I’ll be here, and my door is always open.”
Jaylen Brown is playing the victim card again, but his NBA officiating ‘agenda’ claims hold no merit
Brad Botkin
McGrady, a longtime mentor of Brown’s, speculated on Monday’s podcast that the All-Star forward may feel underappreciated given how he led the Celtics to the No. 2 seed despite Jayson Tatum missing most of the season while recovering from a torn Achilles.
“I think his frustration lies deeply within the organization and other things that we don’t really have the details to,” McGrady said. “It’s just been a lot of stuff that I’ve been hearing just going on with the Boston organization with JB. I think part of him is like, ‘I showed you guys more of who I am as a basketball player. Not only just, you know, what I did on the basketball court, but the leadership that I displayed within this team, and you’ve seen that not having our best player in [Tatum].’ So, all that stuff, I think just came into play with him and his frustration.”
Brown has not made any public comments to that effect, but Stevens reiterated that if there are any lingering issues, he’s always open to talking.
“If anybody ever wants to come in and talk about it, and talk about their team, their place, whatever the case may be, I’m all ears,” Stevens said. “And that would be 1 through 16 (on the roster), not just Jaylen, not just Jayson, not just the guys that have been here. I think it’s really important to be available. So I certainly am, and none of that (frustration from Brown) has been expressed to me.”
