Jayson Tatum might be out here saying there is “no beef” between him and former teammate Jaylen Brown, but if you saw Brown’s response about “little lamb chops and some gravy,” you know this season’s Celtics-76ers matchups just got a whole lot spicier. The off-season trade that sent Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George was already appointment viewing for fans, but the back-and-forth comments between these two stars have taken it to a whole new level.
Tatum’s “Caught Off Guard” Claims and Brown’s Cap Emoji
The whole thing kicked off when Tatum hit up his YouTube channel, dropping a video claiming he was “just as much caught off guard as the rest of the world” when Brown was traded. He even gave us the play-by-play: “Shams walks over,. He hands me the towel. He’s like, ‘Yo, put this over your face. Don’t react. They just traded him.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, s–t.’ I’m like, ‘Where?’ He said, ‘Philly.’ I said, ‘We traded him down the street?’” Sounds pretty shocked, right? Well, Brown’s response to that video was swift and to the point, just a simple cap emoji. That’s a pretty clear signal that someone wasn’t buying the narrative.
“No Beef, But Not Shaq and Kobe Either”
After the cap emoji hit, Tatum opened up even more about the situation, telling reporters there’s no “animosity or beef or ill will towards him.” He owned up to the entertainment side of the game, saying, “For me, I understand we’re in the entertainment business. Me personally, I’m not much of an off the court entertainer type of guy.” What really seemed to frustrate Tatum was the shift in conversation: “the narrative or conversations haven’t been enough about what we’ve accomplished. All the games we’ve won, winning a championship, how we’ve grown together. It’s turned into this drama type of thing.” He even mentioned calling and texting Brown the day of the trade, adding, “At this point in our lives, we’re too old to be having our relationship discussed X, Y, and Z like on the internet. If there’s a conversation to be had, we can definitely have that.” And just to drive the point home, he flat out said, “This ain’t no f–king Shaq and Kobe.”
“Lamb Chops and Gravy”: Brown’s Spicy Response
When Brown got a chance to respond to Tatum’s “no beef” comments, he didn’t pull any punches, even while agreeing with the sentiment. “I saw that he said, ‘It’s no beef.’ And I think he’s right, there’s no beef,” Brown told reporters, before adding the kicker: “Jayson comes from a wonderful family, we’ve accomplished some great things, he’s a hell of a basketball player and he’s got a great PR team. It’s no beef, but it might be little lamb chops and some gravy, you know what I mean? He should stay ready at all times.” He kept going, saying, “There’s no beef, it should never ever be that. It’s just basketball. We’re both blessed. But it might be a little lamb chop. We’ll be alright.” This whole back-and-forth, especially the “lamb chops” talk, only adds fuel to the fire, especially when you remember ESPN’s Shams Charania previously reported the off-court relationship between the two stars was “as close to non-existent as you could have” and “a tale of two different people.”
So, you’ve got to mark your calendars. These Eastern Conference showdowns were already huge with Tatum, LeBron James, Joel Embiid, and Tyrese Maxey on the court, but now they’re absolutely can’t-miss. Get ready for some fireworks when the Celtics head to Philadelphia for the first showdown on November 10th at 8 p.m. ET. You do not want to miss a single second of that.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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