Jaylen Brown opens up on trade rumors in wake of Anthony Davis frenzy

CLEVELAND -- The whispers are everywhere in the wake of Anthony Davis hitting the trade market last week as Danny Ainge and his staff have been carefully waiting for this availability for several years and hope they will have an opportunity in the summer to jump in the fray for the All-Star big man.

Fortunately, in the interim, the Celtics assets don't have to sweat the possibility of being shipped out of town for the MVP candidate. While the debate has largely centered over whether Ainge would promise the crown jewel of Jayson Tatum to New Orleans as part of a trade package for Tatum, a name that is just as (if not more) likely to be involved in any deal for Davis is Jaylen Brown.

The swingman has steadily turned his season around in the past two months. He lost his starting spot to Marcus Smart in November but has easily been the most consistent bench contributor for Boston since December.

"We all were struggling early in the year and it took us all a while to find our footing," Brad Stevens explained on Tuesday night. "Jaylen has just kind of kept at it and has really had a good last couple of months. He looks a lot like he did in the past and even better, which is really encouraging. We need a lot from him, because he’s a guy that not only can do things that others can do in terms of shooting it or driving, but he can get to the foul line for us too, and I think that’s all really helpful."

BostonSportsJournal.com caught up with Brown to get his reaction to the recent trade frenzy around the league, how he's handling the AD rumors and his communication with Ainge through it all.

BSJ: Danny has talked openly about the fact that he does not plan to make any big moves ahead of the trade deadline and wants to make a run at it with this core group. When he provides that vote of confidence publicly, does that provide any kind of a boost or help make you feel better about the situation?

Brown: It kind of feels the same. It doesn't make a difference. We just have to come out and play basketball. We know this game is a business. We understand that. We'll see what happens after the All-Star break. Like Danny said, this group is the group that we have. That's great. Let's continue to move forward and try to build towards a championship.

When you look across the league and see what young guys on the Lakers and other teams are dealing with right now...how tough does that look at from afar at what those young guys are going through? Or have you known someone well that has dealt with it previously?

Brown: I just try not to compare. I try to just focus on my situation. You can get caught up in comparing and it takes away from what you do best. I try to focus on me and our team and the stuff we need to do better. To start comparing, I let the media, the fans, and the trolls do all that. I don't get into that, pointing fingers and things. I try to focus on me.

Has Danny Ainge talked about you directly about the trade rumors swirling, whether it's sometime recent or at some point over the past year? How much has that helped to put you at ease with the situation?

Brown: Yeah. Danny has always said that the media, stay away from it, it's crap. He doesn't like it and the rumors. Everyone knows Danny. He says the same thing every year in terms of that stuff. The rumors are just rumors or whatever. I mean, partially, you hear from (the rumors). You have people that gather information. The other side is you have to control what you can control. At the end of the day, my job is to play basketball, so I got to focus on that.

How much of what you have seen over the past two-plus years in the league has helped equipped you to deal with this situation?

Brown: I think I've been pretty equipped since I got into the league, to be honest. I've never been one to sweat it too much. I have a lot of faith, that's my acronym, faith. Consistency, hard work pays off. I have faith in a higher power and if I'm supposed to be here, then I'll be here, ya know what I mean? I believe in that and I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to continue to move forward and continue to build and win some games, to see if we can make a push for a banner.

What's the mindset now for the team? You guys have won 10 of 11 and have had different win streaks before this year, but this one feels a little different. Do you feel like you guys are turning a corner?

Brown: Just got to keep playing hard up until All-Star Break. We have four or five games left. I think our focus is just to keep going. 10 of 11 right now? That's a good spot. We just want to get 14 out of 15.