BURNING QUESTION: What Should Celtics Fans Expect From Jaylen Brown This Season?
The Kevin Durant-for-Jaylen Brown trade rumors dominated Celtics' rumor mill, only for KD to say he's staying put. How will all the trade rumors affect Brown's play?
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With Kevin Durant staying put in Brooklyn (for now) and Donovan Mitchell in the Midwest with Cleveland, most of the anticipated major moves this offseason (no, we haven’t forgotten about good ol’ Russell Westbrook in La La land) are in the books.
Despite all the smoke surrounding the Celtics and Durant this offseason, there’s a sense that Boston was never ever as close to getting a deal done as some NBA pundits had led us to believe.
The Celtics have decided to run it back for the most part, with the group that they have in tow now a mirror-image of the squad that came within two wins of claiming an NBA title last season.
Between now and training camp, we will examine some of the burning questions facing the Celtics as they enter the 2022-2023 season as one of the front-runners to win it all.
WHAT SHOULD FOLKS EXPECT FROM JAYLEN BROWN AFTER ALL THE KEVIN DURANT TRADE RUMORS?
Jaylen Brown has shown growth from one year to the next, since he has been in the NBA. The impact of the Durant trade rumors on Brown should only add more fuel to a fire that burns pretty bright as it is now.
Brown’s clearest weakness is his ball-handling, something that has been part of his offseason workout routine for years.
But this summer, there was a greater priority placed on that aspect of his game, knowing it may be the only thing standing in the way of him being a perennial All-Star and Boston winning an NBA title this season.
He averaged a career-high 3.5 assists last season but turned the ball over 2.7 times per game which tied his career-high, from the previous season.
Brown has proven himself to be a player who thrives in the role of being overlooked, past aside, or doubted.
He will never forget how he was booed by Celtics fans when Boston drafted him in 2016, to the point where a significant block of Celtics fans don’t want to see him traded at all - not even for Kevin Durant.
Look for his scoring average to once again be in the low-20s per game, with his turnovers will likely take a dip in part because of his improved play but also because Boston has added depth at the playmaking position.
The knee injury to Danilo Gallinari will indeed have a domino effect on the entire Celtics roster, Brown included. Boston will look at ways to keep its best players on the floor as much as possible, which means Brown will likely average more than 30 minutes per game for the fourth straight season, and fifth time in the last six years.
He has played primarily on the wing as the team’s shooting guard or small forward, and that’s not likely to change even with Gallinari out for what’s likely most of the regular season.
Part of the next phase in Brown’s growth is forcing teams to pay more attention to him offensively and making them pay when they don’t.
Defensively, Brown’s ability to hold his own against most wings allows him to be on the floor while also allowing Boston to play positionless basketball.
That, combined with comparable scoring and improved ball-handling skills, has Brown on pace to have yet another strong season for Boston which should squash the KD-to-Boston rumors.