Jayson Tatum wants to stop Jaylen Brown drama: 'This ain't no f—ing Shaq and Kobe' New York Times (Online) Jay King BOSTON — Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum said he has no beef with longtime teammate Jaylen Brown and would welcome a conversation with him to squash whatever tension has grown between them. “For me, it's like I don't have any animosity or beef or ill will towards him,” Tatum said Friday night after scoring 36 points in a 107-103 win against the New York Knicks. “And I think the frustrating part is since he's not with the Celtics anymore, the narrative or conversations haven't been enough about what we've accomplished, all the games we won, winning a championship, how we've grown together. And it's turned into this drama type of thing.” Brown fanned the flames of that drama Thursday night. In response to a social media video of Tatum describing his surprise when the Celtics traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers in July, Brown posted a blue hat emoji, suggesting he considered the story “cap” — a lie or an exaggeration. Tatum has said nothing but positive remarks publicly about his time with Brown since the trade. Before the Instagram response, Brown had also expressed respect for Tatum since moving to Philadelphia. Still, there seems to be some tension between the former teammates, who won the 2024 championship together. Tatum suggested he wants to put a stop to the divide. “I reached out to him the day he got traded,” Tatum said after Friday's game. “I called him, I texted him. And I understand people process things differently. So for me, at this point in our lives, we're too old to be having our relationship discussed X, Y and Z on the internet. “If there's a conversation to be had, we can definitely have that conversation. I welcome that. I've always wanted the best for him and wished the best for him. I've always publicly said those things.” Tatum and Brown played together for nine years in Boston. They won the 2024 championship and reached the finals another time in 2022. The Celtics never missed the playoffs with both players on their roster. “I saw all these things about, 'Get your popcorn ready when they play,'” Tatum said. “Like, it's not a f—ing boxing match. We play basketball. There's no animosity. There's no beef. And I just hate the way that the conversation or the narrative around it — there's not enough communication. And I think a conversation would solve (the issues) or put out a lot of fires. And again, people process things at their own time. And whenever that happens, it will happen.” After all the success Tatum experienced with Brown, he hopes they can get back on the same page. “I'm not like blaming anybody for how they feel, right?” Tatum said. “Everybody is entitled to their own feelings. We all go through different things in our lives. Just for me, all y'all kind of saw us grow up, and everything that we accomplished. And I don't want that to be in the rearview mirror of what's being talked about when it pertains to us two. “We should be celebrated, right? Do you know how many people played in this league and never went to the finals? We went twice and won a championship. It should be more about that. This ain't no f—ing Shaq and Kobe. Like, there's no beef.” Tatum believes a conversation with Brown could go a long way. “I don't want to put any restrictions or what type of conversation — I'm not saying it's going to be a bad conversation,” Tatum said. “I just think, especially with sports and the NBA, sometimes there's not enough communication. And not to blame y'all, but sometimes the media or the outside can just continue to push or speculate – rightfully so, that's y'all's job. And he just turned 30. I'm 28. I've got two kids. We should, as adults, just (have) a conversation. “I'm not saying it's going to be a bad one or anything like that. It's just communication and a conversation; usually you just get right or wrong, you understand the other side. And I think that's not done enough, especially in our business.”