Five weeks and one LeBron James signing later, Jaylen Brown finally spoke to the media as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers. He answered questions for about 20 minutes about his relationship with the team and teammates, both new and old, and what he’s looking forward to bringing the city of Philadelphia.
The first takeaway of Brown’s press conference was the location. As opposed to holding it at the Sixers’ practice facility in Camden where the majority of these availabilities are, Brown requested that his introduction be held at the Francis J. Recreation Center in West Philadelphia with dozens of children in attendance.
As someone who’s been active in the Boston community, Brown is hoping to have that same impact in his new city.
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“People who know my family and I, we are rooted in the community,” Brown said. “That’s what we hang our hats on.”
The Francis J. Myers Center doesn’t necessarily mean a ton to Brown personally just yet. He admittedly is still trying to learn the city with this as his first step.
“As I’m getting started on a journey, embarking on a journey here in Philadelphia, the introduction, the first impression is everything,” Brown said. “I just wanted to let people know in Philadelphia that this is something that’s important to me.”
Those kids got to look on with members of the media, family and Sixers organization as Brown described his reaction to the trade as well as his new team. Brown said he threw his phone across the room when he first heard the news, but has since been in steady communication with Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe and LeBron James. Maxey, Edgecombe and Embiid all reached out to him pretty soon after the news broke. James has been active in the team’s group chats since he signed later in the month.
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A theme of Brown’s presser was his desire to win and belief in the Sixers’ ability to do so, but he also isn’t sure exactly how that will look. He wasn’t shy about the fact that this roster is going to take some figuring out with the amount of star-quality mouths to feed. When asked what he’ll be bringing to the team, Brown sounded as curious as the rest of us.
“I’m not sure completely yet,” he said. “I think we’ll figure out as time goes on, as we start to spend time with each other, get on the court, and have conversations, etc.”
He didn’t shy away from the fact that there will be a lot of mouths to feed on this roster. The way he continually addressed winning and the habits it takes to do so reassures the idea that he will do whatever it takes to figure it out.
“I’m just excited to just be myself. I think that’s one thing that I can promise the city and the organization and the coaching staff, that I’m gonna come in every single day and be myself, put my best foot forward,” Brown said. “We’ll figure out the Xs and Os and the ins and outs. But winning is the agenda, so that’s the first thing that’s on my mind.”
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To that point, the talent on the front end of this roster stands out to Brown just as much as anyone. He had high praise for the job the Sixers’ front office did as they sat in front of him in the first row.
“Obviously, on paper, we’re excellent,” he said, “but I’ve been around a long time, long enough to know that just what you have on paper don’t really mean nothing.”
He wanted to stress that it takes the proper amount of work and dedication to take something on paper and turn it into actual success.
“It just takes the amount of work and the transparency, and the leadership can really guide this thing or not. So, for me, I’m just focused on that. How can I lead with my heart, lead with my work, my mentality?”
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What will be interesting to see is how much of a vocal role Brown plays. He had tons of praise for Edgecombe when asked about him, but also admitted that he is not necessarily the mentor type. He tries to let his actions speak louder than words.
“I just come in with a mentality to impact winning, lead by example. I’m not designating myself as nothing. You gotta earn that with time and trust, and people gravitate naturally or they don’t,” he said, “but, you know, my focus is on winning.”
Brown has always been a highly motivated individual, and it feels now more than ever that a chip on his shoulder is driving him as a Sixer. He fielded several questions about the end of his Celtics tenure. He briefly mentioned how it didn’t end well there, as well as the fact that he hasn’t spoken to Jayson Tatum since being traded to Philadelphia.
His answer as to whether the trade was as motivating as his 2024 Olympic team snub said the most without having to say a lot.
“Um, yeah. I’m gonna say, it’s one day at a time. That’s all I got.”
