Boston Celtics: What to expect from Moses Brown in a Cs uniform

For once I feel like giving credit to fans for actually being spot on with a trade prediction. After a rough season from Kemba Walker, many people envisioned a trade in which Walker would be sent to Oklahoma City for former Boston Celtics center Al Horford.

Although, people probably weren’t expecting the addition of second-year center Moses Brown to the deal as well.

And while Celtics fans may find the name familiar after Brown had 21 points and 23 rebounds against Boston in late March, I figured fans could use a deeper explanation into what to expect following the trade.

This past season, Brown started in 32 of the 43 games he played in averaging eight points and nine rebounds across 21 minutes per game with a true shooting percentage of 57%.

If you were to look at his peak though, he had an eight-game stretch in mid to late March where he averaged 13 points and 13 rebounds along with a hair under two blocks in 30 minutes a night.

But the real steal of the Brown acquisition might be his current contract.

He’s signed for the next three seasons, all for under $2 million a year. So even if he ends up being a bench player at best, that’s still a very team-friendly deal.

What are new Boston Celtics center Moses Brown’s strengths and weaknesses?

Offensively, he can be a good fit alongside the Jays as a pick and roll threat. At 7’2″ 245 pounds (according to basketball reference) Brown is a big body that can set tough screens to help free up the Celtic’s scorers.

Even as a roller, Brown has a wide catch radius and is already an effective finisher around the rim as a 21-year-old.

The main negative is that he can’t stretch the floor but that’s not the end of the world seeing as Brown shouldn’t be getting a ton of minutes anyway.

Defensively, Brown will need some work.

When he is able to stay in and around the paint, whether it be him playing drop defense or rotating to help someone who got beat, Brown is very effective as a rim protector.

But, when he gets taken out of the paint to either guard a stretch big or defend a pick and roll at the level of the screen, he gets easily lost at times.

The takeaway from all this should be that Brown’s minutes will likely be matchup-based.

So now that we have a basic understanding of what Moses Brown is, where does he fit on the Boston Celtics?

At the least, he’s an upgrade over Tristan Thompson as of now. Not only is he younger and more cost-effective, but Brown essentially does what Thompson does, but better as both a rim protector and glass-crasher.

Robert Williams should definitely hold on to the starting job but as we know he isn’t always the healthiest and is prone to missing games.

What Brown can offer is a little more security at the center position for those stretches where Rob Williams needs rest.

He did start 32 games for an NBA team this past season and while it was understandably one of the worst in the league in Oklahoma City, Brown held his own.

Lastly, Al Horford also came over in the trade, and while it’s unsure what will happen for him in the future, it’s safe to say that both he and Brown will be bench options with differing abilities.

What Moses Brown lacks in defense and floor spacing on offense, Al Horford exceeds meaning that the two of them will, again, likely be used based on matchups.

Overall, Brown is a very low-risk option that still has plenty of time to develop into an even better player. Fans shouldn’t expect him to immediately be a nightly double-double threat but rather should see him as an established player with some experience.

A lot of fans were upset that the Boston Celtics parted with the 16th overall pick in this year’s draft to complete this trade but I’m not entirely sure why.

Brad Stevens has pointed out that he is trying to win now (as he should) so it makes sense to trade picks for players that have already proven themselves in the league.

Because, at the end of the day, one of the last things this current Boston team needs is another rookie at the end of the bench fighting for minutes.