While Team USA will cherish the Paris Olympics throughout their lives, Jayson Tatum might want to erase the trip from his memory. That’s because it was a “tough personal experience” for him as he was forced to be a benchwarmer for 2 of the 6 games. Sure enough, many fans are worried that the disrespect JT faced could even deter his confidence in the NBA and negatively impact him. Adding to those concerns, his teammate Jaylen Brown’s honest take on the whole ordeal has raised more red flags for the Celtics locker room.

Brown was asked how he felt watching his teammate getting benched in Paris. There to talk about his new initiative with Jason Kidd, Jaylen didn’t want to take the focus away from it by chiming in on Tatum’s controversial treatment, but he did say, “I didn’t have too many comments. I don’t have any comments right now…Jayson will be fine. Jayson Tatum will be fine. We’ll be fine.” Not diving deeper into his response, he switched the topic.

On “Tonight is about the Oakland XChange, about the Oakland community. So, I just wanna keep highlighting that,” he continued on Dubs Talk. While Brown did not say anything negative about his teammate, his not speaking up to support Tatum amid his misery could affect the chemistry of the team. More so because there are already rumors about a divide between both stars since JB had won Finals MVP over Tatum. Although Tatum has been considered the best player on the Cs roster, it was Brown’s 20.8-point average and his elite defense against the Mavs that got the job done.

JB only hopes to improve his performance next season as he recently issued a stern three-word warning on IG along with his unique underwater workout images, “Live your advice” which even made the fans believe that he will be “coming for blood” next season.

What raises even more eyebrows is that just a few weeks ago, Tatum also tried to dodge any questions regarding Brown’s snub from Team USA and gave a very ambiguous response when probed. When asked if it was tough to not have Jaylen on the team, he replied, “I mean, there’s so many guys that could take that last spot or whatever. So, yeah it is.”

Moreover, he even admitted to not having talked to his teammate regarding the snub at all. And then, there is also the Derrick White situation as he was the one who got picked instead of Brown when Kawhi withdrew. While JB claimed that he was happy for White and cleared any confusion with him over the phone, many believe that the Celtics’ team chemistry could take a hit with so much drama emerging due to the Olympics.

Jaylen Brown is ready for next season despite the concerns

Although Brown did not say much about Tatum, he did reveal his expectations for next season. When asked if he was still enjoying the title win from June or already preparing to lift another Championship next season, he replied, “Yeah, last year’s over, to be honest. We celebrated. We had a good time. It’s been an amazing summer. I’ve been having a great summer by the way. But It’s over with. Now it is back to work.” As difficult as it was for the Celtics to win their 18 title, the next one might be even harder and Brown knows that.

“Now we got the target on our back. Everybody’s trying to come after us and I’m like ‘Come on.’” Yes, the Celtics have now gone from the hunters to the hunted as the rest of the 29 teams in the league will have an added motivation to beat the reigning Champions whenever they face them. Surely, the Cs have the talent to go back-to-back as they have their core of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and Derrick White staying intact.

Moreover, there are also expectations that with so much disrespect Tatum and Brown faced this summer with the Team USA snub and Olympics treatment, they might come out with a vengeance. And now they know how to get to the mountaintop as every member of the roster has had a taste of Championship victory and head coach Joe Mazzulla is far more experienced than before.

But the key to their success might still lie in the team’s chemistry. Hoping to win another title, the stars on the team will need to set their differences aside and work toward a common goal like they did last season. Do you think they can do it?

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger