​Another Ex-Celtics Player Reveals Whether Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown Had Problems originally appeared on NESN.
Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.Another former Boston Celtics player has weighed in on the surprising Jaylen Brown trade.Nikola Vucevic, who spent a portion of the 2025-26 season in Boston, was asked in a recent interview whether there were signs the Celtics might trade Brown this offseason.“I think there were some signs, mostly because the big contracts and the NBA’s new rules made it difficult for them to build the team,” Vucevic said. “With Tatum and Brown both on such big contracts, it wasn’t easy for them to fit the rest of the team around those two.”Vucevic also addressed the question everyone has been asking.“But while I was there, did I sense anything between the players or any kind of problems? No, I honestly didn’t. I was as surprised as everyone else when the trade happened, even though there had been plenty written about it in the media. But plenty of things get reported and don’t end up happening.“Maybe the time had simply come. They’d been together for 10 years and achieved great results. Maybe they’d reached the end of that road and some things needed to change. Maybe the team needed to be refreshed so they could start over and move in a different direction.”MORE: ESPN Expert Makes Bold Celtics Prediction Before New SeasonThe Celtics acquired Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls ahead of the 2025-26 trade deadline. He appeared in 16 games with the franchise, averaging 9.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game.Vucevic signed a one-year, $3.9 million contract with the Orlando Magic this offseason, returning him to the franchise where he became a two-time All-Star.While Vucevic’s time with the Celtics was short, he was in Boston for the final months of the Tatum-Brown era.Brown and Tatum spent nearly a decade as teammates and won a championship together in 2024 before the Celtics ultimately traded Brown to the 76ers for Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round picks.More CelticsLatest Celtics newsTD Garden fan guide: What to know before you goComplete history of Celtics championships