Jayson Tatum spoke at length, after the Celtics beat the Knicks on Friday, about some of the frustrations he’s felt when it comes to how others perceive his relationship with Jaylen Brown. The two former teammates have been scrutinized for years in Boston. Now that they’re on division rivals, there’s been increased media attention on the two.
The latest detail that sparked speculation was Brown commenting on a social media post earlier this week. In a video about Tatum reacting to the blockbuster trade, Brown commented a blue cap emoji, which is slang for untrue. As a result, Tatum responded Friday. Now, it was Brown’s turn Saturday after the Sixers beat the Bucks.
“I didn’t see the full thing,” Brown told reporters in Philly. “But I saw that he said there’s no beef and I think he’s right. There’s no beef. Jayson comes from a wonderful family. We’ve accomplished some great things. He’s a hell of a basketball player. He’s got a great PR team. There’s no beef, but there might be a little lamp chops and gravy, you know what I mean? He should stay ready at all times.”
Now, what exactly lamb chops and gravy means is up to interpretation. Beef is usually slang for some some type of grudge or dispute between two parties. Brown was also asked about his comment that sparked all of this speculation, and he didn’t go into any details about what the blue cap emoji was supposed to mean.
Tatum, for his part, said he wants to chat with Brown. He revealed that he texted and called Brown right after the trade this summer but heard no response. Tatum, in his comments Friday, reiterated that there was no beef. He also pointed out that he has two kids and that “we’re too old to be having our relationship discussed X, Y and Z like on the Internet.”
“I’m not like blaming anybody for how they feel,” Tatum said. “Everybody is entitled to their own feelings. We all go through different things in our lives. Just, for me, all of y’all kind of saw us grow up. Everything that we accomplished. I don’t want that to be in the rearview mirror of what’s being talked about when it pertains to us, too. It should be celebrated. How many people played in this league and never went to the Finals. We went twice and won a championship. It should be more about that.”
Brown added, between the lamb chop comments, that “we’ll be alright” going forward. It’s clear Brown has some kind of emotions following the C’s trade whereas Tatum tried to diffuse the conversation Friday.
At this point, it’ll be interesting to see how the two sides navigate their first regular-season meeting coming up in a few weeks. The Celtics visit the Sixers on Nov. 10 in Philly, the first time Brown and Tatum will face off as opponents. After these past few days, there’s likely to be plenty of attention on that matchup.
“We both got so much stuff in front of us,” Brown said. “At the end of the day, you gotta do what he gotta do for his team. I gotta do what I gotta do for my team. Jayson’s a great guy. Like I said, great family. Hell of a basketball player. Hell of a PR team. There’s no beef. But there’s a little lamb chop.”
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