Jayson Tatum insists there is no beef with Jaylen Brown after the cap-emoji reply: This ain’t no (expletive) Shaq and Kobe

Jayson Tatum insisted there is no rift between him and Jaylen Brown, answering the blue-cap emoji Brown left under a social media post of Tatum’s story about the day Boston traded Brown to Philadelphia. “This ain’t no (expletive) Shaq and Kobe,” Tatum told reporters after the Celtics’ 107-103 home-opening win over the Knicks on Friday night, ESPN reported. “There’s no beef, it’s not about that. It should be more praise. I understand drama gets clicks and views, but I’m not really into that.”

Brown had posted the cap emoji, slang for calling something a lie, under a Bleacher Report Instagram post carrying Tatum’s account of learning about the trade from Shams Charania after a pickup run in Las Vegas, a moment we covered earlier this week. Tatum said Friday that he had tried to reach Brown directly. “I reached out to him the day he was traded. I called, I texted,” Tatum said. “I understand people process things differently. At this point in our lives, we’re too old to be having our relationship discussed on the internet. If there’s a conversation to be had, we can definitely have the conversation. I welcome that. I’ve always wanted the best for him, wished the best for him. I’ve always publicly said those things.”

“I don’t have any animosity or beef or ill will towards him,” Tatum said. “The frustrating part is since he’s not on the Celtics anymore, the narrative or conversations haven’t been enough about what we accomplished, all the games we won, winning the championship, how we’ve grown together.”

Tatum backed up his words on the court, scoring 36 points with nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals in Boston’s 107-103 win over New York. Brown, now a 76er, helped Philadelphia complete a 29-point comeback win over Cleveland on Thursday.