Jaylen Brown Thought About Leaving Celtics, But Tracy McGrady Advised Against It
In a new live stream, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown admitted that he once thought about wanting to leave the Celtics and seek a larger role elsewhere.
Brown said that one of his primary NBA mentors, Tracy McGrady, stepped in and advised Brown against leaving Boston.
“There (were) times when things was looking rough here in Boston,” Brown said. “I don’t know how many times they put me in trade talks, for whatever reason, it was always something.”
“It was other players that Brad or whoever thought the organization was better fit or they were paying more money, whatever. So I was like, ‘You know, I think it may be time to go.’ You know what I mean? I think I can go somewhere else. … I can score the ball at a very, very high level, and I’m not allowed to grow (here).”
Brown then said that McGrady advised against leaving the Celtics.
“T-Mac was like, ‘Stay, bro.’ And I was like, ‘Huh?’”
Brown was initially confused by McGrady’s advice, because T-Mac during his own playing career was able blossom into a superstar once he left the Toronto Raptors and separated from Vince Carter. McGrady and Carter had sort of a Tatum-Brown thing going on in Toronto, but T-Mac grew into one of the NBA’s greatest first options when he went to the Orlando Magic, and later, the Houston Rockets.
McGrady won two NBA scoring titles in Orlando in back-to-back seasons (2002-04). He was named to seven All-Star teams and is now a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame.
However, McGrady never won an NBA title.
That might be why T-Mac was so adamant in his advice to Brown to stay in Boston, for the opportunity to win.
Indeed, Brown revealed that part of T-Mac’s message to him about staying on the Celtics was the chance it provided for a title. “(If) you got an opportunity to win, win,” McGrady told Brown.
It was sound advice, as Brown won a championship in 2024 and snagged an NBA Finals MVP trophy to go along with it.