Jaylen Brown says there is no beef with Jayson Tatum, but he did not exactly sound eager to leave it there. Speaking Saturday night, Brown said he thinks Tatum is right that there is nothing personal between them, then followed with jokes about a great PR team, lamb chops and gravy, and staying ready at all times.
The comments matter now because they came one night after Tatum said he wanted to talk and hash things out. Tatum said Friday night that he had no animosity, beef or ill will toward Brown, and said he reached out the day Brown got traded, calling and texting him. Brown’s response kept the exchange alive while insisting the rivalry is not really a rivalry.
Brown said he did not see the full comments, but what he did hear was enough for him to agree with Tatum’s central point. “There’s no beef,” Brown said, before adding that Tatum has a great PR team and that “there might be a little lamb chops and some gravy.” He said Tatum should stay ready at all times, then added that both players have so much in front of them and that each has to do what he has to do for his team.
That is the wrinkle in all of this: Brown keeps denying any real conflict while undercutting the denial with a stream of sarcasm. He called Tatum a great guy, noted that he has a great family and described him as a hell of a basketball player, but then returned to the joke about a hell of a PR team and said there is no beef “but it be a little lamb chop.” The result is less a clean truce than a public back-and-forth that still sounds unfinished.
The schedule will keep the story alive. The Celtics will be in Philadelphia on Nov. 10 for the first of four regular-season matchups between the two teams, and Brown’s return to TD Garden is set for Jan. 21. Brown is 3-0 as a member of the Sixers, which only adds another layer to a matchup that is already carrying more chatter than usual. Whether Brown and Tatum actually talk and clear the air is now the part that still matters most.
