The Philadelphia 76ers upset the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. Boston accomplished a lot in the regular season, but it fell short of people’s lofty playoff expectations. Reports surfaced that Jaylen Brown was not pleased with the organization days after the Celtics’ Game 7 loss, but Brad Stevens denied these claims.
NBA World Responds to Brad Stevens Comments on Jaylen Brown
Former seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady claimed he knew of bad blood between Brown and the Celtics organization. He explained the situation to former eight-time All-Star Vince Carter on their podcast, “Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady.”
“I think his frustration lies deeply in the organization that we don’t have the details to… There’s just been a lot of stuff that I’ve been hearing, just going on with the Boston organization with [Jaylen Brown],” said McGrady.
Despite these reports, Brad Stevens, president of basketball operations for the Boston Celtics, denied their accuracy.
“I talked to Jaylen, Monday … It was nothing but positive. He has not expressed those frustrations to me. We’ve been here 10 years together, and I do think … just like any of our other guys, as we get to the end of the season, I’ll be here, and my door is always open,” expressed Stevens.
Brown enjoyed a career-best 2025-26 campaign, averaging 28.7 points, 5.1 assists, and 6.9 rebounds. He upped his usage with Jayson Tatum missing most of the season, and impressively, Brown’s scoring efficiency did not decrease. The 29-year-old inserted himself into MVP and All-NBA discussions. He accomplished a lot individually but likely feels the team’s quick playoff exit overshadows his performance.
The NBA world commented on multiple perspectives in this situation with McGrady, Brown, and Stevens. Boston fan Adrian Troplini thinks McGrady should have elaborated more on the situation in his initial report.
“@Tmac_213 [Tracy McGrady], can you please elaborate further instead of being vague about it?” Troplini wrote.
Barstool Sports’ Dan Greenberg feels confused about the entire situation after Stevens’ comments. He simply posted, “Alright, so what the hell is going on,” on X/Twitter.
Alright so what the hell is going on https://t.co/V13oBQ2NXE
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) May 6, 2026
John Zannis, president of CLNS Media Boston Sports Network, is not convinced by Stevens’ denial.
“Nothing Jaylen Brown says or does is by accident. People should have learned this by now. When his mentor goes on a podcast & says he’s “hearing” Brown is having problems w/ Celtics organization the day before Brad Stevens is scheduled to meet with media, thats’s not by mistake,” he said.
Nothing Jaylen Brown says or does is by accident. People should have learned this by now. When his mentor goes on a podcast & says he’s “hearing” Brown is having problems w/ Celtics organization the day before Brad Stevens is scheduled to meet with media, thats’s not by mistake.
— John Zannis (@John_Zannis) May 6, 2026
Celtics fan account @alpacinogrunt shares the same stance, saying Stevens’ statement was “not exactly a resounding denial lmfao.”
It will be interesting to see if any consequences emerge from this situation throughout the 2026 offseason.
