Brown's camp denies trade demand claim after Celtics exit

Jaylen Brown’s camp has denied that he requested a trade from the Boston Celtics or gave the organisation a list of demands before his move to the Philadelphia 76ers in July. The response came after Celtics broadcaster Brian Scalabrine made the claims on Monday, then later said Brown had not technically demanded a trade.

Brown’s camp told ESPN that the suggestion he had requested a trade or presented demands was “10,000% a lie.” The dispute has brought fresh attention to his departure as the 2026-27 season gets underway, with Brown now playing for Philadelphia.

Scalabrine revises his account

Speaking on his Sirius XM radio show on Monday, Scalabrine said his understanding was that Brown had demanded a trade privately rather than through the media. The former Boston forward said Brown had gone to the organisation with a list of demands and told it: “You either do this or you trade me.”

Scalabrine did not say what those demands were. He also claimed Brown had wanted a move to the Milwaukee Bucks; Boston had earlier attempted to swap Brown for Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the Bucks instead sent Antetokounmpo to the Miami Heat.

Hours later, before a Celtics game, Scalabrine revised his account, saying: “Technically, he didn’t demand to be traded.” Asked what Brown had wanted, he said he did not know what the ultimatum or demands were, but characterized the situation as: “do these things right here or else”.

Scalabrine raised a possible contract extension as one of those things but did not confirm it. ESPN had reported when Brown was traded in July that he had never made a trade request.

Questions remain over the split

The latest exchange follows public comments by Brown and Jayson Tatum about their relationship. Tatum rejected reports of a rift, saying there was “no beef”, while Brown responded that Tatum had “a great PR team” and joked that there might be “a little lamb chop”.

Brad Stevens had also addressed Boston’s side of the story at a press conference following the trade. For now, Brown’s camp has rejected the account of a request or list of demands, and Scalabrine has qualified his initial description, saying Brown did not technically demand to be traded. Neither his revised comments nor the response from Brown’s camp establishes precisely what was discussed before Brown left the Celtics.