Jaylen Brown Has Positive Parting Words for Recently Traded Teammate

NBA trade deadline week is a hard time for everyone. Not only does it feel like half of the league has their name in trade rumors, but even safe players have to watch their teammates either struggle through the rumors or leave for a new team. 

For Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics, dealing with the fallout of a trade deadline move became their reality on Tuesday. 

Shams Charania of ESPN reported, “BREAKING: The Chicago Bulls are trading center Nikola Vucevic and a second-round pick to the Boston Celtics for Anfernee Simons and a second-round pick, sources tell ESPN.”

While Simons only played half a season in Boston, he made an impact on his teammates and coaches. Jaylen Brown spoke about what he hopes to see from his now former teammate down the line. 

“Anfernee has all the respect in the world from me. Uh, it’s a business, but there’s a human aspect to it. And since he’s been here, he’s contributed to winning. He’s won us some games. He’s just a great, great person—great kid—on and off the floor. Just humble. Like, I hope he gets everything that he’s looking for, just because he just fit right in with this group of guys in that locker room. I mean, he could have had, you know, different thoughts and thought differently, and his energy could have been different. Man, he was a great teammate and did everything he needed to do that we asked him—and more—and contributed to winning. So Anfernee has all the respect in the world from me, and I hope he gets everything he deserves.”

Even though Simons’ role in Boston wasn’t maybe what he had hoped it would be, Simons stayed mature and ready throughout his time there. Brown recognized Simons’ sacrifice and good attitude. For a young player with All-Star aspirations, this probably wasn’t easy. Hopefully for Simons, he can find a larger role in Chicago.