What the Celtics said about Jason Kidd calling Jaylen Brown their best player
"J-Kidd, man, I see what he is doing."
Jason Kidd caused a stir at the end of his press conference on Saturday by saying that Jaylen Brown was the Celtics’ best player.
Kidd was asked about what makes Brown tough to go against, and his response was unexpected.
“Well, Jaylen is their best player,” Kidd said. “Just looking at what he does defensively, he picked up Luka full court. He got to the free throw line. He did everything, and that’s what your best player does.”
“Just understanding he plays both sides, defense and offense, at a high rate. And he’s been doing that the whole playoffs. I mean, when talk about the Eastern Conference MVP, and it seems like he has continued to pick up where he left off.”
Brown said he had no reaction to the comment. He was asked why he thought Kidd would say that.
“I don’t know. It’s a team game,” Brown said. “We’re trying to focus on that, and, you know, everybody has their own opinions.”
Tatum said he could see how Kidd’s comments could have been strategic.
“No reaction. This is a team sport, right,” Tatum said. “We understand that. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t have JB on our team, and we can say that for a lot of guys, right. We have all played a part in getting to where we’re at, and we understand that people try to drive a wedge between us.
“I guess it’s a smart thing to do or try to do. We’ve been in this position for many of years of guys trying to divide us and say that one of us should be traded or one is better than the other. So it’s not our first time at rodeo.
Tatum said he’s had conversations with Brown about people trying to divide them.
“Yeah, we’ve had conversations about it before,” Tatum said. “In all reality, we’ve just had to deal with it for a very long time. I think it’s part of us maturing as men, right. Very, very young coming into this league, and just had to deal with all the ups and downs of, essentially, the success that we’ve had.”
“There’s been positive things and there’s been negative things that come with that. We are not the first duo to go through that process, and we won’t be the last. So understanding that side of it, and just keeping the main thing the main thing, and focusing on the job that we have front of us.”
Al Horford also said he could see the strategy in Kidd’s comments.
“J-Kidd, man, I see what he is doing,” Horford said. “I see what he is doing. Jaylen Brown is an unbelievable player and very special for us.”
Joe Mazzulla said what goes on inside the Celtics’ locker room is more important than comments from outsiders.
“Just need to focus on the truth,” Mazzulla said. “At the end of the day, nobody knows because they are not in the locker room. And so I think as long as we focus on the truth, we focus on the things that we talk about every day, we focus on the relationships that we build with each other, we focus on just that stuff.
“They can look at it however they want. At the end of the day, what goes on in our locker room, how we communicate with each other, how we build relationships with each other and how we treat each other on and off the
floor, that’s the most important thing.”
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