Jayson Tatum finally breaks silence on 'tough' Jaylen Brown trade that broke up Celtics star duo

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown played together for nine seasons, during which speculation about potentially breaking up the duo ran rampant.

While a championship in 2024 put a pause on those rumors, an early playoff exit brought renewed thought that the end could be near for the Celtics' star tandem.

Boston dangled Brown in Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks and ultimately traded him even after missing out on the Bucks star, dealing Brown to the rival 76ers for a package headlined by veteran Paul George.

Now, Tatum is breaking his silence about the deal.

Here's a look at what Tatum said about the Celtics' blockbuster trade.

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What did Jayson Tatum say about Jaylen Brown trade?

Tatum spoke out about the Brown trade at an event promoting his children's book on Tuesday, calling the situation "tough."

"It just makes you appreciate the moments and time that we had," Tatum said. "Obviously, it came to an abrupt ending, but it doesn't mean that it wasn't super successful. Great years, obviously, that he gave to the city and to the organization."

Tatum has played alongside Brown in all nine of his NBA seasons. Because Brown rarely missed extended time with injury, the two spent the bulk of that time sharing the court together until Tatum missed most of this past season while recovering from an Achilles tear.

Tatum called the new dynamic "weird," adding that he was "fortunate enough to go to the Finals with [Brown] twice, and win a championship, and push each other to be the players that we are today."

Tatum will see Brown often next season and likely beyond, as Brown remains in the East and in the Atlantic Division as a member of the 76ers.

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Why did Celtics trade Jaylen Brown?

Celtics president Brad Stevens told reporters he believed the Celtics' path was "a little bit more challenging" in the years ahead with so much of their salary cap space taken up by Tatum and Brown.

"I might be wrong. I'm not going to stand up here and be defensive about that, but the path looked a little bit more challenging, with 70% of our cap and such a high percent of our usage tied into two players," Stevens said.

Stevens cited recent NBA champions as an example of how having depth can be more valuable than having significant money tied up in just a couple of players.

"You have to do a great job of building out depth that can hopefully replace the irreplaceable individual," Stevens said.

Brown averaged a career-high in points last season and led the Celtics to the East's No. 2 seed with Tatum missing all but one month of the regular season, though an early playoff exit shined the spotlight back on the dynamic between Tatum and Brown.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported after the trade that the personal relationship between Tatum and Brown was "close to nonexistent," which also might explain why the Celtics were determined to make a trade.