Tweeting about Nike “is this what we do?” » after his Celtics teammate Derrick White was added to the United States men’s Olympic basketball team – which is sponsored by the clothing company Brown fell out with – because of him in July 2024.
Sharing and acknowledging several social media posts last season — as longtime running mate Jayson Tatum endured the physical and mental agony of rehabbing after tearing his Achilles tendon — indicated that the Celtics were just as good without Tatum as they were with him the year before.
Most egregiously, he called last season his career favorite hours after the Celtics took a 3-1 lead and were bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the 76ers last spring.
Brown is also addicted to being enigmatic, casually fueling controversy, and then acting like everyone is making a big deal out of something he started. Again… tolerable when he’s losing 29 points a night for the very good basketball team you care about.
But when he’s no longer part of your team?
It gets boring in a hurry. And potentially damaging to his perception, and even his legacy in Boston, in the long run.
Brown, of course, is no longer in green, having been dealt to the rival 76ers on July 1 in a seismic move that brought 36-year-old Paul George and four draft picks to the Celtics. The deal — especially the seemingly modest return — shook Celtics fans.
George’s strong, selfless play – hey, he East a nine-time All-Star — during the Celtics’ 2-1 start, helped a significant portion of fans overcome lingering stages of grief over the deal. But Brown’s behavior accelerates this process.
Brown has acted since the trade as if he was the only great player in NBA history to be dealt. This has led to various – here’s that word again – cryptic and not-so-cryptic digs at the Celtics over the past few months.
These notably suggest that President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens was not forthcoming with him when trade rumors, including the first that the Celtics were willing to trade Brown to the Bucks in a deal for superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, began to percolate. What did Brown want, to listen to every trade negotiation?
We’ll spare you the full rehash of Brown’s recent pettiness toward Tatum, because that’s way more boring. Condensed version from Reader’s Digest: In video clips detailing his summer released last week, Tatum said he was shocked by the exchange. Brown responded on Instagram with a cap emoji, essentially calling Tatum a liar and indicating that Brown thinks Tatum knew.
It also indirectly suggests that Stevens is being dishonest, given that he said earlier this month that he had a strict rule against asking players to swap teammates, explaining, “I don’t ask other guys about other guys because I don’t want to put them in that position.”
Tatum responded thoughtfully after the Celtics’ win over the champion Knicks last Friday night, essentially saying he wanted everything they accomplished together in nine seasons as teammates to be the focus.
“We should be celebrated. You know how many people have played in this league and never made it to the finals? We’ve been there twice and won a championship, so it should be more about that,” he said. “Like, it’s not (expletive) Shaq and Kobe. There’s no beef.”
Brown, after the 76ers’ win over the Bucks last Saturday night, kept history alive in his unique and predictable way. He said nice things about Tatum, noted that he had a good PR team for some reason, then said, “There’s no beef, but it might be some lamb chops and some gravy,” a line he liked so much he repeated it.
Brown will continue to use these slights as fuel, whether they are real or not. His stubbornness – that pride, that confidence – helped him reach extraordinary heights. But this will prevent him from recognizing, let alone recognizing, reality.
The Celtics traded him in large part because the collective bargaining agreement makes it virtually impossible to create a real contender when two players have max contracts, especially when one of those players isn’t quite worthy of such a deal.
I don’t know if Brown, vice president of the players’ association, had any idea that the CBA’s second punitive apron could lead to his breakup with Tatum. But it’s clear he thinks he’s the superior player and that the Celtics should have kept him.
This is not the one they should have kept. He’s smaller, older, has a less diverse offensive game and doesn’t rebound, defend or pass as well – especially not pass.
He’s better at one thing, I guess: those petty, cryptic games on social media.
Ask me though, his little moves against the Celtics are a pretty lame way to follow his favorite season.
Chad Finn can be contacted at chad.finn@globe.com.
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