Jaylen Brown Ready To ‘Sacrifice,’ Win With Sixers

A month after he was officially traded to a former division rival, star wing Jaylen Brown was formally introduced as a member of the Sixers at a Thursday press conference (YouTube link), writes Dan Gelston of The Associated Press.

The five-time All-Star said he tossed his phone across the room when he first learned he was being traded by the Celtics and admitted he’s still getting used to the idea of the major change after spending his first 10 seasons in Boston.

“I’m still processing to some degree,” Brown said. “Just, the excitement of coming to a new city, a new place, new expectations, new energy. Then also leaving somewhere that you’ve been for a very, very long time.”

Brown was reportedly included in the Celtics’ trade offers for Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was ultimately dealt from Milwaukee to Miami. Rather than retaining Brown, Boston decided to move the 2024 Finals MVP.

While Brown repeatedly said he was focused on the future rather than the past, he said the “whole process” leading up to the deal bothered him. He described the speculation and eventual trade as a “crazy transition,” according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, but noted it was part of the business and he’s ready to win in Philadelphia.

“I think everybody knows how incredible the opportunity that we have, but we also got to put in the work,” Brown said. “So my focus is on that, putting in the work, earning the respect from the city, from the coaching staff, everything.”

Brown, who was named to the All-NBA second team for the second time last season and finished sixth in MVP voting, acknowledged the team’s talent, but knows “sacrifice” will be required for the 76ers, whose projected starting lineup features Brown, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, LeBron James and Joel Embiid.

“Obviously it’s a lot of guys with talent and egos. But to win, you got to be able to sacrifice, you got to be able to have trust and communicate,” Brown said, per Shelburne. “I want to come in transparent. I want to come in with my agenda on the table. Look, this is what I’m here to do. This is what I want to do. I want to win. And we kind of can figure out how to respectfully move around each other.

“Being the first to the gym, being in a film room, I’m looking forward to learning from LeBron — just everything that he’s endured during his career on and off the floor. One of my favorite things to do is learn and can’t wait to just soak up as much information as I can and apply it to myself.”

Here’s more from Brown’s presser:

• There has been chatter about how several high-usage players will coexist in the starting lineup. Brown said he’s not worried about that, writes Grant Afseth of Ballislife.com. “My focus is winning,” Brown said. “So I mean, obviously, other people’s focus may be scoring and other — my focus is going into every practice, every meeting, every shootaround, every film session is like, how do we win night in and night out? So sometimes that may change, sometimes it may look different. But whatever it takes — at this point in my career, nothing else really moves me. Like, I don’t really care about the outside success. I never did. You know what I mean? I don’t care about the MVP awards or the Finals MVPs. None of that stuff really moves me. It’s nice, but the only thing that’s gonna move me is doing something collectively, so a championship. So that’s what I’m looking forward to, trying to start that journey and building towards.”
• Brown lauded the work new president Mike Gansey and the rest of the front office did to assemble the roster, but pumped the brakes to some extent on the notion that Philadelphia will look like a contender right away, according to Adam Aaronson of PhillyVoice. Still, the 29-year-old is confident things will work out in the end. “Obviously, on paper, we look great,” Brown said. “But let’s all slow down. It takes real work every single day in order to make something like this happen. For me, the work has started already. I’m looking forward to doing whatever it is I need to do, whoever I need to talk to, to make sure that we get on the same page and that everybody’s focused on the same thing. If we do that, then we’ll be where we want to be.”
• When asked about his relationship with former co-star Jayson Tatum, Brown was respectful of his longtime teammate but said the two had “not really” spoken since the deal happened, Shelburne adds. “We won a championship together,” Brown said. “So anybody that you won a championship, you would think that’s what a brotherhood or a lifelong legacy would entail. Obviously there’s ups and downs in any type of relationship for sure. But on my end, it’s nothing but respect. Besides when he plays the Sixers, I hope he does well. But other than that, everything for me is just based in respect.”