Jaylen Brown’s concern over losing Isaiah Thomas shouldn’t worry Celtics fans

The Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas trade took everyone by surprise, and that includes Thomas’ former teammate Jaylen Brown. It isn’t everyday you see the league’s third-leading scorer traded just before the start of training camp.

Brown spoke about his feelings on the trade in an interview with Complex magazine, saying “only time will tell” if the results are good or bad for the Celtics.

“It changes the whole dynamic, the whole culture. We’ll see if it’s for good or bad, time will tell. But it’s still a little weird to me, to be honest, because when I came in everything they stressed was culture, environment, Celtic basketball. Now, it’s like what is the environment, the culture, what is Celtic basketball?” Brown said.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for me, great opportunity for the Celtics, great opportunity for Kyrie. Obviously, I loved Isaiah. He was like a big brother to me. I watched him, admired him, the chip he carried on his shoulder I love him. I still do. I’ve kept in contact with him. Congratulated him when he got traded to the Cavs. It’s tough because it’s the business we live in. Do I agree with it? Not necessarily.”

Brown was clearly bothered — even if only a bit — by Thomas being traded. Though he understands the NBA is a business, he’s questioning everything the Celtics typically pitch about their lore and history.

Brown’s feelings come from a good place, though, and he likely isn’t alone in having them.

Brown and everyone else loved Thomas in Boston

Thomas poured his heart and soul into making the Celtics great again and growing with the team. He did whatever he could to make the team better. He played through getting a tooth knocked out midgame, a hip injury, and his sister’s passing.

And Thomas still won’t say a bad thing about Boston, despite the trade. He went through a myriad of emotions after the trade, but understood it as a business move and accepted his new role with the Cavaliers as best he could. He’ll always love Boston.

But that’s why the trade puzzled Brown so much. Boston loved Thomas as much as he loved Boston, so why make a move that might not necessarily pan out? Thomas is already a good player and was more productive than Irving last season.

Brown sees the logic behind the move, but is still puzzled by it from a team chemistry perspective. Thomas was a mentor to Brown and helped him get through his rookie campaign successfully while also being the center of a team that was the best in the Eastern Conference. There’s no guarantee it gets any better than that.

He’s a smart player. He knows that, at the end of the day, this is a business. He said as much in the interview with Complex. The Celtics have Kyrie Irving on their team, who could potentially be a great player for them going forward.

Brown mentioned the playing time he’ll get now that Jae Crowder and Avery Bradley are both gone as well. He’ll miss them as mentors, but he knows the team is setting itself up for the future now after dealing away those key pieces.

It should be noted that this interview was done before training camp even started. Brown’s perspective on the trade probably hasn’t shifted, but he may feel better about playing with Irving and company now that he’s actually experienced it on the court.

With little carryover, it will certainly take some time for the current Celtics roster to gel. But they might be better for it in the long run, and despite any pushback from Brown, other players and fans, Danny Ainge did his job the way he always does it in this situation.

As Brown said, only time will tell if the Celtics continue to get better. They could fall apart, but with Brad Stevens as their coach and much of their younger core pieces yet to hit the prime of their careers, that’s highly unlikely.

At the end of the day, Brown and the Celtics will be just fine. Chemistry matters, but it doesn’t matter so much that the Celtics will fall apart here. Irving will mesh and the team will probably be right back where they were last year.