Jaylen Brown had some Boston sports fans in an uproar when he made what could be perceived by some as ambiguous remarks regarding his future with the team during an interview with Logan Murdock of The Ringer on Tuesday.
When asked what his outlook was when he became a free-agent in 2024, Brown responded, “I don’t know. As long as I’m needed. It’s not up to me. We’ll see how they feel about me over time and I feel about them over time. Hopefully, whatever it is, it makes sense. But I will stay where I’m wanted. I will stay where I’m needed and treated correct.”
Though Brown’s response perhaps wasn’t the gung-ho, “all about the Boston Celtics” response that some diehard Boston fans would’ve liked, he explained that he might’ve been trolling a bit, knowing that vague responses such as the one used in The Ringer interview might cause some Celtics fan to go a bit berserk. “Because that type of stuff makes Celtics fans speculate and go crazy,” Brown added.
Brown commented further after the Celtics one-sided 132-109 win over the Kings on Tuesday, a game where he dropped 27 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in 34 minutes played.
“I feel great, on a 50-win team right now, which [you] can’t take for granted. [Tuesday] was the 50th win,” Brown said in the post-game conference with NBC Sports Boston. “Right now, I’m focused on helping lead my team for another playoff run. In terms of speculation etc., I can’t speculate on anything above what I’m doing right now.”
When asked to expound on his comments concerning the Ringer interview, Brown noted that sometimes quotations get taken out of context, and that his clear-cut focus at the moment is helping the Celtics win.
“I think sometimes when people write articles,” Brown said, “they get taken out of context at times, especially when writers have their own agendas or whatever. For me personally, thinking about clarifying things that have been recently said. But other than that, I’m focused on my team. I’m focused on playing basketball and focused on winning games.”
Brown added that although it was nice for the Celtics to secure their 50th win of the season, they had to continue playing well and that his current focus wasn’t fostering speculation on leaving Boston but rather, to ensure that the synergy with his teammates was at a level considerable enough to win games.
“The only thing I want to clarify is that the Celtics need to play better and win more games,” Brown added. “If I want to say something in the future about the kind of things that’s been floating around, I will. But in terms of right now, I like when people hear things from the horse’s mouth and you can see my reaction, and my face and everything — how I feel about what I’m saying. Sometimes those things can get lost in translation. If I feel the need to do so, I will. I keep constant communication with my teammates and organization. And we have to have everybody on board if we’re going to do things that we say we’re going to do. Right now, I’m focused on that.”
Is Jaylen Brown staying in Boston? It would appear for the meantime that the answer is yes. The 26-year-old might have one year left on his contract but it would appear that his mindset is dead set on helping the Celtics win and play to the best of their ability, which is all a Boston fan can ask for regarding a player whose contract is currently on its last legs.
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