Even by NBA drama standards, the divorce between Jaylen Brown and the Celtics -- and with that the uncoupling of Brown and Jayson Tatum -- has reached a fever pitch. Temperatures are high, even though one side is angling for everyone to simmer down. The problem there is that the other side doesn't seem so interested in a cooling-off period.
Which is frankly great for the rest of us who enjoy consuming NBA content. Some people will claim they aren't into the soap opera component of it all, but at its core the NBA is entertainment, and as captivating narratives go, it's hard to beat the old storyline where two friends/brothers/allies find themselves on separate sides of a growing divide. It's a classic of the genre.
And now we have a captivating new entry. Since trading Brown to the 76ers, the Celtics and Tatum have done everything they can to diffuse any tension. That hasn't worked the way they probably hoped.
Tatum's most recent attempt at a "move along, nothing to see here" crowd control approach has backfired spectacularly. He said he's heard about how when the Celtics play the Sixers for the first time this season -- go ahead and add that Nov. 10 date in Philadelphia to your calendar -- people will have their popcorn ready. Except he insisted this isn't a boxing match, it's basketball.
"This ain't no f---in' Shaq and Kobe, there's no beef," Tatum claimed. It should be more praise, and I understand that don't necessarily sell. Drama gets clicks and views, but I'm not really — that's not my thing." There is no Tatum-Brown beef, according to Jayson Tatum.
"This ain't no f— Shaq and Kobe."🎥 @_JakeSeymour pic.twitter.com/ajbXv01lsC There's an adage in politics that when you're forced to deny something, you're already losing. The basketball bitterness equivalent is claiming you and your longtime former coworker aren't Shaq and Kobe. Tatum said he's "not much of an off-the-court entertainer type of guy," which is funny because as off-the-court entertainer type guys go, he's doing a bang-up job putting the quarter in and winding everyone up.
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