Jaylen Brown Finds Out His Cousin is Patriots WR After Awkward Trade to Philly

Jaylen Brown spent his entire NBA career hating the Philadelphia 76ers. Now he’s playing for them. And to make things weirder, he just found out his cousin is a former Eagles wide receiver who got shipped out of town for similar reasons.

The Celtics traded Brown to the Sixers on July 1st in a massive deal that sent Paul George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks to Boston. Suddenly Brown went from running pick-and-rolls with Jayson Tatum to sharing a locker room with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Lobster rolls for cheesesteaks. Same conference, 300 miles southwest and a whole different universe of expectations.

But here’s the part nobody saw coming. Brown told reporters Tuesday that he recently learned AJ Brown, the former Eagles receiver who was traded to New England last month, is actually his cousin.

“What’s crazy is that we’re cousins. AJ Brown,” Brown said. “I didn’t know that, my Grandpa just told me. I think we’re cousins. I don’t think he knows that either. His grandfather is brothers with my grandfather. It’s crazy.”

So let’s get this straight. AJ Brown gets traded out of Philadelphia because of concerns about his fit in the locker room and his off-field stuff. A few weeks later, his cousin Jaylen gets traded to Philadelphia because the Celtics had similar worries about his character. The irony is thick enough to spread on a hoagie roll.

AJ Brown was a star in Philly when he was on the field. Two straight seasons over 1,400 yards. But the drama around him got loud enough that Howie Roseman decided to move on. Now he’s catching passes from Drake Maye or whoever ends up under center for the Patriots. Eagles fans are not thrilled about watching him succeed in New England this fall.

Jaylen Brown is a different kind of talent. He’s a former Finals MVP, a guy who averaged 26 points last season and plays defense like his life depends on it. The Sixers are betting that whatever personality stuff dogged him in Boston won’t be a problem in Philly. Or at least that the talent outweighs the risk. That’s usually how these gambles go.

Meanwhile, Brown is still wrapping his head around the family tree thing. He said his grandfather dropped the news on him recently, and he’s not even sure AJ knows they’re related yet. Two professional athletes from the same bloodline, one getting run out of town while the other gets brought in to save it. That’s some soap opera stuff.

Philadelphia fans tend to be ruthless. But they might give Jaylen a pass if he’s dropping 30 points on the Celtics in October. Especially if his cousin is struggling in Foxboro.