Cal Basketball: Jaylen Brown Isn't Counting On A New Car From Jayson Tatum

Jaylen Brown still isn’t ruling out participating in the NBA All-Star weekend after suffering a facial fracture, but he’s pretty sure he won’t be getting a free car from his Boston Celtics teammate, despite what Jayson Tatum jokingly promised.

Brown, 26, is sidelined by a maxillary facial fracture he suffered last Wednesday when he took an accidental elbow from Tatum. The timetable for his return is uncertain.

“Obviously, I feel terrible, a freak accident,” Tatum said. “But whether it’s a mask or buying him a car, I think I got it.”

Brown, who will wear a protective mask after returning, was informed of Tatum’s comments during a Sunday news conference.

"He said that?" Brown asked. "Nobody told me this. I like that. That'll be great.

"Jayson Tatum. I'm getting a car?" Brown said, directing his remarks to his teammate. "He lyin'. He lyin' for sure.”

Brown, who spent one season at Cal in 2015-16, understood the entire back-and-forth was nothing more than teammates fooling around. "He was probably just playing," Brown said.

When Brown begins playing again is still unsure. He’s unlikely to be available for the All-Star Game, to which he was chosen as a reserve.

"I'm taking it day to day right now," Brown said. "I'm just letting the swelling go down, letting the pain subside, and then I'll kind of go from there.

"So, I can't make any determinations long-term because I'm just taking it day to day.”

When he does return, Brown will be fitted with a mask that teammate Marcus Smart modeled this week.

"There's a lot of excitement around wearing a mask, I guess, so just been going through the process, picking and choosing which one's the best and going from there," Brown said.

Brown, who is averaging career-bests of 26.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, said his face is feeling a little better each day. "Feeling a lot better for sure," he said. "Still having a little bit of pain but feeling better from the first couple days.

"Had to get a couple scans, see a bunch of specialists and different doctors to get all the info. But they came to the determination I don't have to have surgery, so that's the good thing. I'm just happy that I don't have to go through that process because I probably would have missed a lot more games. So, I don't think it'll be too long. I figure I'll be fine.”

Brown has never worn a mask before but doesn’t think it will impact his game.

"It's going to take more than a Jayson Tatum elbow to take me out.”

Cover photo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown by Chuck Cook, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo