Celtics

Brad Stevens said he wanted to make sure Jaylen Brown had ‘peace of mind’ after trade rumors

"I’ve just been through it too much over the last however many years to pay much attention."

By Hayden Bird

November 11, 2021

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After a recent report emerged that the Celtics were having “conversations” with the 76ers about potentially trading for Ben Simmons—and that the deal would “have to” include Jaylen Brown—Boston president of basketball operations Brad Stevens appeared to dismiss the rumor on Thursday morning.

“I laugh,” Stevens said of the hypothetical blockbuster on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Toucher and Rich”. “I’ve just been through it so much over the last however many years. It’s not necessarily that—I know everybody has their own thing and has to react to everything—but the way things are written, the way that stories take hold, the way that rumors catch fire, I’ve just been through it too much over the last however many years to pay much attention.”

“Obviously, if there is something that gains enough steam or gains enough media attention, then you want to have conversations with the people in your building just to make sure that they know what’s real,” Stevens explained.

So, what did he say to Brown about the false report?

“I just walked up to Jaylen and said, ‘Hey, your name’s all over the place, as you know,'” Stevens recalled. “‘Obviously, from our standpoint, you’re a Celtic and a guy that we obviously we think exceptionally high of, and, you know, nothing doing.’ I just wanted to make sure he had that peace of mind.”

Stevens said that Brown was unaffected by his name appearing in the rumor.

“I don’t think he thought twice about it.”

Brown missed his second straight game on Wednesday due to a hamstring injury that’s expected to keep him out one-to-two weeks.