Jaylen Brown Article

The Boston Celtics have utilized a much-needed reworking of the starting unit to string together a 3-game winning streak. Marcus Smart has stepped up in the absence of injured forward Jaylen Brown and Marcus Morris recently replaced Gordon Hayward. With the promising re-emergence of Gordon Hayward as of late, coupled with the team’s recent success sans Jaylen Brown, it has us wondering- is Jaylen Brown no longer an ‘untouchable’ commodity and when will the trade rumors begin?

Jaylen Brown entered the league a freakishly athletic, yet raw and untested 19-year-old out of the University of California, Berkeley. Many questioned the Celtics in drafting the promising yet far from guaranteed prospect with the 3rd overall selection. Some believed Kris Dunn should have been the choice in that slot. Others clamored for sharpshooter Jamal Murray, with whispers of Buddy Hield‘s name creeping in near draft day.

Brown was a bit slow out of the gate to start his NBA career, appearing in 78 games but seeing the floor with the starting unit in just 20. His 6.6 points per game in 17 minutes per contest didn’t exactly shout ‘All-Star ceiling’, but he did have his moments. He showed flashes of the potential that had Danny Ainge drooling on Draft day throughout the season with his first 20 point performance coming against the Orlando Magic on January 27th. He finished the season strong with a 19 point outing in the Eastern Conference Finals vs the Cavaliers.

Following a much-improved sophomore season, Brown has regressed in several statistical categories amidst his 3rd-year campaign. His 11.1 points per game is down from last season (14.5 ppg) along with his assist totals (1.3 apg) and rebounding numbers (4.1 rpg).

Just a year removed from shooting nearly 40 percent from three, Brown is now sitting amongst the bottom feeders of the league with a dismal 25% shooting clip from downtown. He has spent less time at the charity stripe and has also regressed in free throw percentage (currently shooting 62%).

There is clearly something wrong with Jaylen Brown. He doesn’t look mentally prepared for games, and oft-times seems lost on the court. The effort on both sides of the ball (particularly on defense) is not where it needs to be, and has consistently been down from last season.

Jaylen has developed a habit of taking more risks on defense, leading to defensive breakdowns and easy buckets for the opposition. He runs the floor with a slouched posture and frequently appears lost on defense. His failure to hustle back has gotten him into some trouble with his teammates, leading to several disputes (with Kyrie Irving on more than one occasion) over his mishaps. Several times Jaylen has had teammates hit the deck near him and has not gone over to help them up.

These newly developed tendencies are all uncharacteristic of the Jaylen Brown Celtics fans have grown to know and love.

With the return of Gordon Hayward it was expected that last year’s stars (namely Brown and Jayson Tatum) would have to take a step back. Thus far, Brown has struggled the most with his reduced role.

As observers, we can only imagine how frustrating it must be. Jaylen spent the entire summer working on his game, only to see his minutes reduced and numbers fall nearly across the board. He has been away from the team due to a back injury, and in his absence the Celtics have rattled off 3 straight wins. Hayward has looked better than ever while Brown has watched from the sidelines. Jayson Tatum continues to develop at an exponential rate, as he continues to separate himself from Brown in the “who has more potential” debate.

Value is key

Perhaps the best outcome for both sides is a mutual separation. Boston can give Brown his chance to thrive in a primary role elsewhere, while the Celtics can receive invaluable assets on other areas of the floor (i.e. the frontcourt) in return.

As a trade asset, there are few players in the league that provide more value than Jaylen Brown. His name has appeared in just about every major trade rumor that the Celtics have been involved in since his rookie campaign. Whether it’s Jimmy Butler, Kawhi Leonard, or even rookie big man Mo Bamba, Jaylen Brown’s name has routinely been the requested centerpiece of all trades involving the Boston Celtics. Until now, Danny Ainge and company have resisted all temptations to deal the 21-year-old forward.

Taking into account Brown’s lack of progress from a productivity standpoint, it’s time to at least consider making a move. Unless Jaylen has a resurgence between now and the All-Star break or management has some sort of under the table deal prepared for Anthony Davis (whom the team can’t trade for this season so long as Kyrie is on the roster) his value will only decline.

Making a trade earlier rather than later all but guarantees a more than fair return, and prevents the team from force trading in a less than ideal situation (Cleveland knows all about that). With Kyrie’s proclamation to re-commit to the team long-term, why not use Brown as the centerpiece in a trade to pull in another star?

Adding an established veteran puts this team in a better position to win now, while the presence of guys like Jayson Tatum and Gordon Hayward sets the franchise up to be competitive for the foreseeable future. Fans and analysts alike have been clamoring for a change. Maybe, just maybe, this is the move that could get the Celtics back on a championship track.

Let’s go a step further and take a look at three potential trade scenarios involving Jaylen Brown that would benefit the Celtics moving forward.

Minnesota Timberwolves
Trade Scenario 1

Boston Receives:

Dario Saric

Josh Okogie

Minnesota Receives:

Jaylen Brown

Yes, this trade involves the Minnesota Timberwolves. No, this trade does not involve Karl-Anthony Towns. The Timberwolves are currently in a weird flux state where they aren’t exactly competitive, yet they aren’t quite in rebuild mode. After the loss of Jimmy Butler, the Wolves aren’t exactly about to challenge the Warriors for Western Conference supremacy. However, they have some promising talent left on the roster.

The Wolves make this trade because adding a 21-year-old with an All-Star level ceiling is a pretty enticing consolation prize for their failed Butler experiment. Brown gets the opportunity to thrive in a primary role while also playing in a semi-competitive environment. Minnesota gets their star wing of the future while remaining relevant in an otherwise small market. The combination of Towns, Brown, Wiggins, and Teague make for a potentially deadly threat moving forward.

The Celtics get two promising young talents in return for their forfeiture of Jaylen Brown. Dario Saric is a 6-foot-10 Swiss Army knife talent out of Croatia. Saric has only seen 2 years of NBA action, yet at the young age of 24 is already averaging 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest for his career.

Most importantly, he gives the C’s a much-needed boost at the power forward/center position. While he isn’t known as a premier shot blocker, Saric does provide solid defense and an ability to score around the basket at an efficient rate.

Josh Okogie was drafted by the Timberwolves with the 20th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He has since started in 7 of 16 games for the Wolves, averaging 7.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest.

Okogie comes as an added bonus for the Celtics. While his potential is not nearly as high as Jaylen’s, he does provide exceptional wing depth in Brown’s absence.

It is important to note that the reason the trade came up as ‘unsuccessful’ in the image above is due to the fact that Dario Saric was recently traded to the Timberwolves. Therefore, he can’t be traded in combination with another player until January 11th.

Indiana Pacers
Trade Scenario 2

Boston Receives:

Domantas Sabonis

Aaron Holiday

Indiana Receives:

Jaylen Brown

Indiana’s reasoning for taking this offer is simple. The Pacers are currently sitting in 5th place in the Eastern Conference. A position that they have become all too familiar with the past few seasons. The franchise is desperately seeking something (or someone) that will boost them into the upper echelon of the standings.

Enter Jaylen Brown. The Pacers have a significant need for a primary wing scorer and defender outside of Victor Oladipo and Bojan Bogdanovic. Brown gives them exactly what they need, with the potential to become the top player on their roster. The loss of Sabonis hurts, but having Myles Turner employed certainly softens the blow.

In exchange, the Celtics receive their dream center. A 6-foot-11 big that can spread the floor and score at will, while also providing stout interior defense and a propensity to grab boards in bunches. Sabonis is only 22 years old and has only been in the league for 2 years, yet currently averages a double-double with 14.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per contest. His player efficiency rating (25.03) is good for 13th best in the league, one spot behind superstar big Joel Embiid.

Aaron Holiday comes as a salary cap filler for the C’s. Holiday is a 22-year-old rookie out of UCLA and enters the NBA as the younger brother of Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday. He is currently averaging 6.5 points per game in 11.9 minutes per contest.

Charlotte Hornets
Trade Scenario 3

Boston Receives:

Miles Bridges

Willy Hernangomez

Charlotte Receives:

Jaylen Brown

This proposal comes as a bit of a dark horse deal. Much like the Pacers and the Timberwolves, the Hornets are in need of an upgrade at the small forward position. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is a solid talent, but adding a guy with the potential of Brown significantly bolsters that position for the foreseeable future. Jaylen gets the opportunity to play an expanded role under the guidance of veteran star Kemba Walker while remaining competitive in the wide-open Eastern Conference.

With the addition of Brown, the Hornets don’t have to enter a rebuild. The lack of top-end talent in the East allows Charlotte to remain competitive while adding a sizable weapon to their arsenal.

Why does Boston take this deal? It starts with the bright potential of Miles Bridges and ends with the high ceiling of Willy Hernangomez.

Miles Bridges was selected by the Clippers with the 12th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He would be dealt to the Hornets on draft day. The 20-year-old out of Michigan State plays with a high motor, constantly energizing the offense with highlight real dunks. He is a raw talent, but his 7.9 points per game in 20 minutes per contest is certainly promising.

Willy Hernangomez spent the first 2 years of his career with the New York Knicks. He averaged 8.2 points and 7 rebounds per game in just 18 minutes per contest hisrookie campaign, but fell victim to the injury bug in years 2 and 3. Now fully healthy once again, Hernangomez has looked exceptional to start the season. Though more of a traditional center, the Spaniard boasts a 6-foot-11, 240-pound frame built for bruising in the paint. He would be a welcome addition to a Celtics squad in need of another big body to fill up the interior and aid in rebounding.


All of these trade proposals were constructed assuming Anthony Davis is off the table, or he will be for the foreseeable future. Due to the restrictions under the Derrick Rose rule, the Celtics are forbidden to trade for Davis due to the fact that both he and Kyrie Irving fall under the criteria in place. Therefore, there is no way to trade for Davis without losing Irving–at least until the Celtics secure Irving under a new contract in the offseason.

That being said, there is always the potential for an Anthony Davis trade after this season. A blockbuster trade involving Jaylen Brown would be best utilized for a player of Davis’s caliber, but if GM Danny Ainge doesn’t see Davis coming available anytime soon, he may move Brown to a different home.

By Tom Westerholm

BOSTON -- To some players, joining the second unit after starting for much of the season would feel like a demotion.

But Boston Celtics wing Jaylen Brown, who will re-join the team for its matchup against the New York Knicks on Thursday, says he's fine with whatever the Celtics need to do to keep their recent success rolling. The Celtics have won three games in a row starting Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris.

"I'm expecting to keep going how it's been going," Brown said. "Smart and Morris have been playing extremely well, and our team is looking completely different in the first initial start of the game, so that's what I would expect. I haven't talked to Brad or anybody else, but whatever, however we can keep this going, playing the right way and continue to win, I'm 100 percent for it."

How Brown would adjust to coming off the bench was a topic of some discussion over the last few games. Boston stumbled out of the gate to a 10-10 record and finally seemed to gain some momentum when Morris and Smart started out of necessity, when Brown injured his tailbone.

Since then, the Celtics' offense has rocketed upward. That's not entirely fair to Brown -- it wasn't his fault other players who were missing shots suddenly started making them -- but the trend was undeniable.

Brad Stevens pointed out that starting isn't always particularly important.

"I think the bottom line is that that's one of the unfortunate parts is that as a coach you have to make those decisions and you have to communicate them well and you have to think about how it will affect people and you have to be empathetic to that," Stevens said. "And the reality is it's not easy to bounce back and forth in and out of a lineup. ... I didn't play at this level but in my experience, I learned a heck of a lot more about myself when I was on the bench than I did when things were in the starting lineup. For me, it's one of the reasons I've de-emphasized starting as something everyone talks about, something that ultimately isn't as important as it's made out to be."

That's all true -- the first six (or so) minutes of the game matter, but they don't necessarily mean that much. Boston's starting unit against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday was minus-10, while lineups with Gordon Hayward -- who has been coming off the bench -- were killer.

Still, even if something isn't particularly consequential in reality, narrative can give it a feeling of importance that perhaps matters almost as much. If Brown is going to go to the bench for a longer stretch, his acceptance of that role will be crucial.

For his part, Brown said Hayward has set a good example in coming off the bench effectively.

"I believe in my ability, the coaching staff believes in my ability, so I think coming off the bench, I think people make it a bigger deal than what it really is," Brown said. "At the end of the day, it's basketball. Hayward came off the bench the other day and had 30 points. That's a mindset and that's a choice. Coming out and having the right mindset and coming out and playing basketball, letting it take care of itself."