Celtics superstar Jayson Tatum finally breaks his silence on the Kevin Durant-Jaylen Brown trade rumors.
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Coming off a Finals loss to the Golden State Warriors, the addition of Kevin Durant would put the Boston Celtics immediately back in championship contention for the following season. However, for this to happen, Brad Stevens and co would have to trade their homegrown talent, Jaylen Brown.
In what many expected the 2022-23 free agency to be a dull affair, the sudden fireworks in Brooklyn could change the entire dynamics of the league, courtesy of KD and Kyrie Irving, who have demanded a trade. While the LA Lakers look to be a landing spot for Uncle Drew, teams continue to line up for the Slim Reaper.
Recent rumors have the Celtics emerge as top suitors for Durant, even offering All-Star Brown in a packaged deal. Nonetheless, the 25-year-old continues to maintain his stance on playing in Boston despite all the rumors, tweeting his reaction.
The Nets and Celtics entered trade discussions for Kevin Durant, per @ShamsCharania
Boston reportedly offered Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and a draft pick for Durant, but the Nets also wanted Marcus Smart, more draft picks and potentially one more rotation player pic.twitter.com/qTvOQezcx3
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 25, 2022
Jaylen Brown took to Twitter after being named in trade rumors this morning 👀 pic.twitter.com/Cjhszfo9Jd
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 25, 2022
As rumors continue to grow, Brown’s superstar teammate Jayson Tatum would address the matter.
Jayson Tatum attempts to evade Kevin Durant-Jaylen Brown’s trade rumors.
It was a bitter-sweet season for Tatum, having a successful run until the Finals. The 24-year-old had his 3rd consecutive All-Star selection, followed by All NBA First Team selection and winning the ECF MVP. Unfortunately, the Celtics forward failed to replicate his success in the Finals.
The 2022 Finals had Brown do most of the heavy lifting for the Cs, averaging 23.5 PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 3.7 APG. Despite losing against Stephen Curry and co, the Celtics had a lot of positive takeaways from the Finals. Thus rumors of a Brown-Durant trade came as a surprise to many.
Nonetheless, Tatum gave his insight on the rumors, stating the following.
“I’ve played with (KD) at the Olympics and obviously he’s a great player. But that’s not my decision, I love our team and the guys we got”
“I don’t believe everything I see on TV. I done seen some shit about me that was a lie.”
Jayson Tatum talks about the KD trade rumors 👀 (via @jschwartz115)pic.twitter.com/F0mQUtE8J5
— Overtime (@overtime) July 27, 2022
Both Tatum and Durant were crucial in bringing Team USA the gold in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The two multiple-time All-Stars have been regularly pitted against each other, considering their similar style of play. Their last meeting being in the 2022 playoffs as the Celtics swept the Nets 4-0 in the first round.
The Celtics front office might have already created cracks in their relationship with Brown for the future. Thus they should pull in all stocks to get KD on board.
Also read: Jaylen Brown shows $35 million worth Andrew Wiggins support over COVID-19 vaccination regrets
