Jaylen Brown-Jayson Tatum Drama Addressed by Celtics HC Joe Mazzulla

Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla remained diplomatic as some of the past tension between Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum appears to be rising to the surface.

"Those two guys, they were together for (nine seasons), and they had great, great moments together," Mazzulla said, per The Athletic's Jay King . "And at the end of the day, nobody is perfect. We all can be better. We all did great things. We all did things that we want to be better at. So, I think it's more just focusing on the greatness that those two were able to achieve and the fact that they're both great people."

The coach went on to say Tatum and Brown are "different," both in terms of their playing styles and personalities.

"It doesn't mean that it's good or bad. They're just different," he said. "So, you focus on the high character. We're focused on Jayson because he's with us; he plays for us, he's our guy. We're grateful for what Jaylen did in the past, but our focus goes to Jayson — who he is as a player, who he is as a person — and then we just move on from there."

From the moment the Celtics traded Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers, there was a general belief the move reflected a need to break up he and Tatum. The pair weren't openly feuding, but the partnership had run its course after nine years.

Now that they're on rival teams, the facade might be crumbling a bit.

Brown implied Tatum wasn't being entirely truthful when he said he was as surprised as everyone else to learn his longtime running mate was on the way out.

The five-time All-Star went a step further when he claimed "there's no beef" with Tatum before hinting at an underlying frustration.

"Jayson's a great guy," Brown told reporters . "Like I said, great family, hell of a basketball player, hell of a PR team. There's no beef, but it'll be a little lamb chop."

More than anything, this is all underlining why the Brown trade needed to happen. It doesn't take much reading between the lines to see there was likely some lingering unease inside Boston's locker room last season.

If Brown remained on the Celtics, managing the relationship with he and Tatum would've been a delicate balancing act for Mazzulla and his staff all year.