Jaylen Brown has unofficially been a Philadelphia Sixer for almost two weeks and officially for one week once the NBA's moratorium period was lifted. You'd think that, by now, he'd have spoken with several of his new teammates, including, of course, Joel Embiid. Well, according to Tracy McGrady, that hadn't happened, but fear not; Tony Jones of The Athletic (who covers the team) swooped in to report otherwise.
A source tells me the report that Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown have not spoken is inaccurate.
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) July 13, 2026
“The two of them have spoken” the source said.
Brown was recently traded to the 76ers for Paul George and picks
The speculation started because on the "Cousins with Vince Carter & Tracy McGrady" podcast episode released on Saturday, McGrady said:
"JB was on the stream the other day. He reached out to Maxey, he talked to Maxey, and he talked to V.J., but I don't think he has spoken to Embiid yet. You know, they had their thing in past years, a personal thing going on. Now, they're teammates, and I don't think there's been a conversation between the two, at least not to my knowledge."
Jaylen Brown and Joel Embiid reportedly have spoken to each other
In case you're wondering why McGrady would know who Brown has and hasn't spoken to, he is a close friend of the 29-year-old guard, who was actually at McGrady's Ones Basketball League when news of the trade first broke.
Maybe when McGrady and Carter recorded the podcast episode, Brown and Embiid hadn't spoken yet. Or maybe they had, and he was just misinformed.
None of that matters now, as Sixers fans are just glad to know there wasn't anything odd going on between two of the team's top players. If it were true and carried into next season, it'd serve as the distraction Philadelphia didn't need as it goes after a title with its new star core.
Brown and Embiid may not have been all that fond of each other in the past, at least on the court, but that should've been put aside as soon as the trade went through. It no longer matters that the Sixers ended the Celtics' season over two months ago. Okay, actually it does, but not anymore for Brown, who is now representing Philadelphia. He's on the good side now.
Having Brown around should actually make Embiid's life easier, as the Sixers are better constructed to handle things when he needs to miss time, which will be inevitable, given Philadelphia wants its star center to be at his best come playoff time. Getting to play with someone like Embiid is a bonus for Brown, too.
The trade can be a win-win for Brown and Embiid, so it's a good thing it doesn't seem there is any animosity between them that kept them from speaking to one another.
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