Jayson Tatum reveals what he said to Jaylen Brown about Kevin Durant trade rumors

From an optics perspective, it was likely not the wisest move for Jayson Tatum to work out with Kevin Durant when he was rumored to be a trade target for the Boston Celtics.

And with Jaylen Brown the alleged focus of the Brooklyn Nets’ interest in dealing with Boston, it was likely compounded by team president Brad Stevens and Tatum waiting for Brown to reach out for clarification on where things stood instead of the reverse, a situation that came to light in a recent interview of the Cal alum by the Ringer’s Logan Murdock. But the St. Louis native shared what he said to Brown in that call in a three-way call with the team president after Boston’s win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Tatum related that he was “Just reassuring (Brown) that it’s obvious we need him, and he’s a big part of this team, this franchise, and without him, we can’t reach our goals” via CLNS Media.

“You guys know that, the world knows that, (and) the team knows that — we need him to be the best version of ourselves. That’s all we talked about.”

If there are any lingering hurt feelings from that moment, they do not seem to be manifesting on the court, with Boston playing some of their best ball since early in the 2022-23 NBA season in recent games — and at exactly the moment they need to start looking like the contender they hope to be.

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Story originally appeared on Celtics Wire