Boston Celtics Draft Profile: Jaylen Brown

The Boston Celtics will not be short of options when their turn to pick in the draft lottery comes around. The Brooklyn Nets are likely to give the Celtics a top 5 pick and one player they must seriously consider is Jaylen Brown. With all the draft picks spent on guards recently, the Celtics are due to go after a forward, and Jaylen Brown may be their best option.

Jaylen Brown brings something to the Celtics’ front court that has been lacking during the Brad Stevens era, elite athleticism. Physically, Jaylen Brown may be the most NBA ready player in the draft and the Celtics will have no issue with where he needs to develop, shooting. The Celtics have never shied away from players that needed to develop a jump shot and one of the most important things about Jaylen Brown is that the potential is there. He only shot 29.4% form three point range in college but the Celtics run an offense that is built around accommodating shooting issues. It is the willingness to shoot that is important for the Celtics.

Despite the need to develop a jump shot, Brown’s NBA ready body gives him the potential to be the best offensive instigator in the Celtics’ front court. The Celtics’ offense is almost entirely run by their guards. Isaiah Thomas and Evan Turner take on the majority of the responsibility in generating the offense, but that could change if the Celtics select Jaylen Brown.

Brown possesses the aggressive mentality that is essential to the Celtics’ system. He may need time to adjust to playing against more athletes at his level, but he has shown no indications of being a tentative offensive player. Brown is comfortable as an offensive instigator and his ability to create in the post could be a huge difference maker for the Celtics. The best offensive option out of the Celtics’ bigs is Kelly Olynyk‘s three point shooting. That versatility is perfect for Boston’s offense, but Brown can bring something to the Celtics that they will otherwise not have.

Brown can give the Celtics another player who can be expected to generate their own offense when it is needed. Brown has flourished with contact in college and his incredible physical frame will allow him to manufacture points by generating contact. Throw in a phenomenal ability to finish through that contact at the rim and Brown could immediately be one of the most important offensive players on the team.

In addition to having the most offensive potential on the inside, Brown has shown that he is capable of providing the versatility that the Celtics love. The shot will need time to develop but the open opportunities generated by the Celtics’ ball movement will allow Brown to discover exactly what he is capable of shooting wise, and where he can be most effective.

The difference maker for Brown may then be his ability to defend multiple positions. The Celtics have been employing a lot of small ball and three guard lineups and the 6’7 Brown could play anywhere from the 2 to the 5 for the Celtics. Even better, he could defend anyone of the court. The Celtics need strong defenders to be successful with their small ball and Brown fits into that perfectly.

His athleticism gives him the potential to be a better defensive big than anyone on the Celtics (except for maybe the potential of Jordan Mickey). Brown’s athleticism gives Stevens an extra dimension to work with that he otherwise lacks. The Celtics’ bigs depend greatly on sound fundamental defensive play. The defensive play makers for the Celtics have been their guards but Brown could change that. Brown can be the guy that gets the Celtics running in transition, and he can be the guy that terrorizes opponents who are trying to solve their small ball lineup.

Brown’s combination of athleticism and versatility will be extremely hard for the Celtics to pass up. He is the kind of player that will flourish under Stevens, who will surely find all the ways to bring out his immense talent and athleticism. Brown is a great fit for the kind of basketball that the Celtics have been playing and he fits arguably their biggest need. Other than Mickey, who still has not had a legitimate chance in the NBA, the biggest gap in the Celtics’ defense has been the absence of an athletic big.

Their bigs play solid defense but time and time again they have been abused by bigs on the inside. The Celtics simply do not have the kind of defenders that will intimidate players to avoid the paint. Brown’s athleticism alone gives him the potential to be that interior force for the Celtics.

Brown is coming out of college as a freshman and to have his physical ability at this point in his career is unique. The potential with Brown may be the most intriguing in the entire draft. The Celtics commitment to improving players’ jump shots makes his offensive potential unlimited and his combination of size and athleticism makes him a physical prototype for the ideal front court defender for the Celtics.

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Jaylen Brown is one of the truly special talents in this year’s draft and there is no doubting that he has the potential to be a part of the future of the Celtics. The Celtics’ front court remains completely unsettled but Brown has the kind of talent to solidify their interior, on both ends of the court, for many years.