Jalen Brown spoke about a lack of respect toward him on his online show. The 29-year-old forward was not pleased with the Celtics’ attitude, who initially included him in trade packages with the Bucks for Giannis Antetokounmpo and ultimately traded him to the Sixers without explaining their decision to him.
“It’s a whole range of emotions. I’m still processing everything, so give me a little time. But I’m also looking forward to what’s next. I’ll say that a message was definitely sent, and that message was received. I wasn’t thrilled with the respect they showed me throughout this process. I think there was a slight lack of respect. I think Brad Stevens (Celtics president) is probably taking a lot of criticism. I wasn’t thrilled with the way he facilitated some of the discussions, but I certainly believe there’s more to it than that. I just wish they could have explained more to me, because if they had explained more, I think I would have understood. “I thought I’d earned enough respect to get that explanation, but apparently I was wrong,” Brown said.
“That’s life. We move on,” he continued, appearing happy about the new challenge in his career, even though after so many years in Boston he had learned to… hate the Sixers. “I’m excited about the future and what’s to come. You know what I mean? It’s bittersweet, you know; I think Philadelphia has a history—it’s a strong city, a tough city. So I’m looking forward to it because I don’t want any special treatment. I don’t want handouts. I don’t need any extra privileges. I’m not saying you’ll give it to me anyway, but you know, I plan to earn my respect day by day through hard work. I can’t wait to hit the gym. So the hard part is that for the last 10 years, I’ve been… programmed to hate Philadelphia. From the history of the rivalry to the playoff battles—you know, all of that. “So it’s funny now that I have to change my attitude,” he added.
*photo source: AP