76ers' Jaylen Brown denies demanding Celtics trade, rejects Scalabrine's claims

Jaylen Brown used his postgame podium in Indianapolis on Wednesday night to reject a claim that has followed him from Boston. Speaking after the 76ers' 114-109 win over the Pacers, Brown denied that he asked the Celtics to trade him or gave them a list of conditions for staying. PhillyVoice recorded his answer: "I never demanded a trade. Never made a list of ultimatums."

The claim came from Brian Scalabrine, the former Celtics forward who now works as an analyst on Boston's TV broadcasts. On his radio show, Scalabrine said Brown had demanded a trade and was hoping to be included in a deal for Giannis Antetokounmpo. He then backed off part of that, saying instead that Brown had given the team changes it needed to make if it wanted to keep him. According to PhillyVoice, a representative for Brown told ESPN that his only request was for equal treatment with Jayson Tatum. CBS Sports reported that Brown's camp had already called the story a lie before Brown spoke.

Brown was careful about Scalabrine himself. He said he has never had a problem with him and understood why the analyst felt he had to speak up. Even so, he said he would not let false claims follow him into his time in Philadelphia. He also said he would save the full story of his exit for after the season, as The Philadelphia Inquirer also reported.

That probably will not end the matter. Brown's recent remarks about Tatum kept the feud going, and Boston's broadcasts have taken shots at him since. CBS Sports noted that the Celtics come to Philadelphia on Nov. 10, which will bring the questions back. The same outlet pointed out that Boston's handling of the trade, which sent Brown to the Sixers in a deal built around Paul George, looked unusually rushed for a front office run by Brad Stevens. That is why people around the league keep asking what happened.

On the court, none of it has hurt Brown so far. He had 20 points and 10 rebounds against Indiana, and Philadelphia came back to win again.

What it means for Friday against the Knicks

The 76ers are 4-1 and have won both of their road games. Before Indiana, they beat Cleveland 114-106 and Milwaukee 127-116 at home, and their only loss was 106-93 to Detroit. Their season began with a 106-100 win at Madison Square Garden. On Friday the Knicks visit Philadelphia for the rematch, which streams on Prime Video.

Philadelphia is the home favorite on this site's board, which tracks six venues. Novig has the Sixers at -120 to win outright. DraftKings has the best price on Philadelphia at -108, a 12-cent difference on the favorite. The Knicks are +108 on Novig, and Kalshi has the best price on them at +109, so the venues are close on the underdog side. The total sits between 228.5 and 230.5 depending on the venue, and the sportsbooks' hold on the moneyline runs from 3.8% to 4.8%.

That price gives the Sixers only a small edge in a rematch they won on the road. Brown said he wants the focus on games like this one, and Friday will show whether the noise from Boston has any effect.