The Tip-Off
Some NBA goodness from around the USA TODAY Sports network.
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Jaylen Brown admits Kevin Durant trade rumors made him question Celtics' direction
Jaylen Brown and the Celtics don't seem like a relationship built to last.
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It’s easy to see how a constant swirl of trade chatter about a particular player could cause that player to become cynical about their team. At a certain point, there’s some truth to all the rumors.
Boston Celtics all-star Jaylen Brown is someone very familiar with those circumstances. He was most recently brought up in trade talks involving Kevin Durant at last month’s trade deadline, and that was after similar trade talks last summer and familiar chatter in previous years.
So if his relationship with the team that drafted him isn’t as warm as it could be, no one could blame him. Judging by his comments in a recent profile by The Ringer’s Logan Murdock, that certainly seems to be the case.
“It’s hard coming into teams and organizations and being warm. They operate on different principles, I think. This is an organization. They look at it as a business, where they’ll tell you one thing, and then behind closed doors, they’ll say another, and they’ll trade you off,” Brown said.
The profile dives into Brown’s search for balance and purpose on and off the court, and he apparently had a similar outlook before even joining the Celtics. So, I’m not saying the trade rumors definitely have him side-eyeing Boston, but they certainly didn’t help ease the mind of a player who has a hard time trusting.
And it all could potentially set the stage for his eventual exit.
It’s easy for fans to brush trade talks off and think a team is fine just because a player didn’t get moved, but sometimes those things linger. Brown went so far as to set up a three-way call with fellow Celtics star Jayson Tatum and team president Brad Stevens to figure out where they stood.
“[KD] and JT are friends. They was working out together and whatnot. So, I wasn’t sure what the energy was. I wasn’t sure what the direction of the organization was.
“Once we all got together and kind of talked it through, we all left on the same page. But the actions that was taking place during that time, it just didn’t seem like that was the direction that the organization was going in. I don’t know. It was hard to tell, at least,” Brown said.
That he even needed to ask at all speaks volumes. Pair that with his own personal ambitions — “I feel like I still have so many more limits to tap individually” — and this feels like a situation that needs some real massaging if it’s going to last. Actually, I’m not sure it’s meant to last.
“We’ll see how they feel about me over time and I feel about them over time. Hopefully, whatever it is, it makes sense. But I will stay where I’m wanted. I will stay where I’m needed and treated correct.”
The NBA world mourned a legend Tuesday after news of Hall of Famer Willis Reed’s death.
Reed was a two-time champion and finals MVP with the New York Knicks and the 1970 NBA MVP.
That same year, his heroics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals inspired his teammates and a generation of fans when he played through major injury to spur his team to victory over the Los Angeles Lakers. Fans couldn’t help but recall that moment and many more in celebrating his life, as my colleague Robert Zeglinski wrote:
“Reed, the Knicks’ leading scorer in the series, scored on his first two shots for his only points as the Knicks went on to win 113-99 and capture the NBA title. Reed’s resolve is often credited as inspiring his teammates and is revered as a testament to toughness in athletics.
The NBA world mourned Reed’s death and remembered some of the iconic moments of his career, including that signature Game 7.”
Rest in peace to one of the NBA’s greatest players.
One to Watch
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
(All odds via Tipico.)
Nuggets (-8.5, -320) at Wizards (+260), O/U 226.5, 7 PM ET
If I know the Wizards like I think I do, they’ll come out and make this a game for about a quarter and a half before eventually losing all steam and being thrashed by double digits. That’s especially likely on the second night of a back-to-back against the West-leading Nuggets. I’m rolling with Denver to cover 8.5 points.
Shootaround
— SlamBall is back! Here’s an explainer on where it went and why it’s returning
— Ranking NBA teams by likelihood to land Victor Wembanyama
— The Spurs are the largest underdogs of the season against the Bucks
— Referee Bill Kennedy got a kick out of Dwane Casey’s meaningless, late challenge