Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were once two sides of the same coin. In 2026, however, Brown ended up flinging his phone across the room after discovering his trade to the 76ers. Did it happen because the Celtics only wanted Tatum to be around? Their public feud has forced Charles Barkley to comment on its bizarre nature.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
“They won a championship together. I think they’re both good dudes; they’re both hell of a player,” Barkley shared his two cents, speaking on SiriusXM NBA Radio. “Just shut the hell up and play basketball. It’s over.”
“I think Jayson tried to like ‘hey man, I got no beef with JB’ and JB’s like ‘well no beef, it’s like some chicken and some gravy.’ I’m like, yo man, what are we doing?” Barkley said, baffled.
Barkley’s emphasis is on the closure of the “relationship” between the two players. Jaylen Brown truly owned that No. 7 jersey while he earned his MVP honors for the 2024 NBA championship win. He played with the team for 10 long years and became an integral part of the roster.
It hurts when you’re forced to say goodbye to something you gave your soul to. “When I first got traded I just threw my phone across the room,” Brown said to Philadelphia media after his trade.
That being said, it’s all done and dusted. His relationship with the Celtics is over, no matter how poorly that went. As soon as he was traded, rumors began floating, and the media picked it up too. Popular broadcaster Stephen A. Smith claimed that Jayson Tatum could have saved Brown from getting traded if he wanted to. Other outlets picked up on similar themes.
So, did Brown get traded because of beef with Jayson Tatum? The Celtics franchise player said no, just like Barkley retold. In fact, Tatum stated that he was just as surprised by Brown getting traded.
Jaylen Brown, on the other hand, stirred the pot. “It’s no beef, but it might be a little lamb chops and some gravy,” he told reporters about the situation. “He should stay ready at all times.”
What his statement truly means, we’ll perhaps never know. However, one thing is clear to Charles Barkley. He thinks both of them are fantastic basketball players who need to stop discussing this situation in the media further.
“You can’t feed this machine man, because every time you say something, the media, the internet, they’re gonna take it to a whole another level.” Barkley said.
He maintained that the shenanigans online are what “bothers” him. After all, both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown have seen their fair share of play. They’ve seen how the NBA works and how the media covers it, regardless of the issue. Their experience speaks for itself, or as Barkley put it, they’re both “grown a** men.”
Credit where it’s due, Jayson Tatum has done his part. He told the media that there’s no beef and that they should rather celebrate all that the two have achieved together for the Celtics.
After the team won against the Brooklyn Nets, Tatum was once again asked about the situation. He simply refused to add to it, noting that he’s done saying his “piece.” That’s where he draws the line.