Jaylen Brown finally answered Jayson Tatum on Saturday night, right after putting up 27 points in Philadelphia’s 127 to 116 win over Milwaukee. He agreed there is no beef between them. Then he spent the rest of the answer making sure nobody walked away thinking it is all love, either.
The short version: Brown called Tatum a hell of a player from a wonderful family, slipped in a line about Tatum having a great PR team, and landed on this: no beef, but maybe a little lamb chops and some gravy, and Tatum should stay ready at all times. Asked to explain the food, he just repeated it. They have not talked, and he does not sound in a rush to fix that.
Some context, because this did not start Saturday. Boston traded Brown to Philadelphia in July, ending a nine year run as teammates that brought two Finals trips and the 2024 championship. This week Tatum posted a docuseries clip telling the story of how he found out about the trade, saying he was caught off guard like everybody else. Brown dropped a cap emoji under it, which is social media for calling the story a lie.
Tatum took almost 13 minutes of his Friday press conference to answer that. His case was basically that the conversation should be about what they accomplished together, not drama, and that a real conversation between the two of them would put out most of these fires.
No beef, but it might be a little lamb chops and some gravy. He should stay ready at all times.
Jaylen Brown, after the 76ers beat the Bucks on Saturday night
So one of them is asking for a conversation and the other is telling him to stay ready. The first Celtics and 76ers game of the season is November 10, and after this week it is not just a basketball game anymore.
See also: DDG Challenged Gervonta Davis to Spar After Tank Allegedly Dissed Him From a Burner Account and LeBron James Went Off on a Courtside Knicks Fan.