The "scatback" comment was a direct quote from Gailey during an official interview, so it wasn't really any behind the scenes info. And over the course of every offseason, including this one, Chris Brown writes about every possible scenario, so he's bound to hit one one sooner or later.
I'm not saying he isn't in the loop. Heck, he has to be at least a little bit based on location alone. But even through various GM's, coaches, and players I've never read anything from Chris Brown that has given me the impression that he has any inside sources that give him any information the team isn't purposefully trying to release to the public. Really, I'm pretty sure that's part of the job description.
Anyway, whether he has extra info or not, the news isn't surprising to hear. As someone else mentioned, Nix has made it very clear since his first few days on the job that he has no intention of going after big name, expensive free agents. I'm not sure why everyone around here gets so riled up thinking we're going to make a big slash with that information publicly known.