Jaylen Brown implies there’s some truth to recent reports about him after being traded by the Boston Celtics.
Hours after he was shipped off to the Philadelphia 76ers on July 2, Brown hopped on his Twitch livestream to address reports that he walks around believing he's the smartest person in every room. “No offense to everybody in sports, but the bar is fucking low,” Brown claimed.
The remark landed as a response to comments made by Colin Cowherd, who cited two anonymous sources — one described as a league executive, one as a scout — who characterize Brown's alleged self-regard as "a disease." Cowherd said the attitude made Brown resistant to bosses, consultants, and teammates alike.
Brown wasn't having it. "We gotta stop with the anonymous sources," he said on the stream. "I'm tired of these damn anonymous sources, like anonymous executive, anonymous source, Colin Cowherd, Bobby Marks, Stephen A. Smith. Anonymous sources is saying anything. I think y'all are the sources."
The timing of the stream added weight to every word. Boston sent Brown to Philly in exchange for Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks — a return package that has drawn skepticism around the league, given that George is 36 with a significant injury history.
Brown said he learned the trade was real in the most unceremonious way possible. "I went up to the facility, my key card got rejected,” he reflected. “Damn, I just wanted to see if it was real. (They) packed me up, bro."
He also made it clear that his exit from the team stung beyond basketball. "I wasn't thrilled with how the conversation was facilitated," he said. "I did feel like it was a lack of respect. At one point, it was fine. And then out of nowhere it just went left."
According to ESPN's Shams Charania, Brown never requested a trade out of Boston. Last season, Brown averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game, carrying the Celtics to the No. 2 seed while Jayson Tatum missed substantial time with an Achilles injury. He finished sixth in MVP voting and earned All-NBA Second Team honors. The Celtics, for their part, remain committed to Tatum on a deal worth $313.9 million, and Brown was entering the third year of a five-year, $304 million supermax.
Brown's academic credentials gave his "bar is low" shot a particular edge. He studied at UC Berkeley, was named an MIT Media Lab fellow in 2019, and became the youngest person to deliver a lecture at Harvard University.
Brown is joining a stacked roster on the 76ers that includes Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, rookie VJ Edgecombe, and, potentially, LeBron James, based on Rich Paul’s comments about the legend’s preferred free agency destinations.
