We may never learn exactly how much, if at all, Jaylen Brown wanted to leave Boston and have his ‘own’ team. We may never learn how much the Celtics feared Brown wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice and accept a secondary role alongside Jayson Tatum. These are obviously huge talking points that are lingering on the surface and played some role in the blockbuster trade that went down, sending JB to Philly.
What we do know is that Jaylen had the highest usage of his career last season, getting to be the clear alpha for Boston with Tatum recovering from an Achilles injury, and JB dubbed it his favorite season of his career. We also know that Brown is now on a Sixers team that already had Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe, and has added LeBron James and Anfernee Simons.
That’s six players who don’t lack confidence, like playing with the ball, and have at least some claim to being the guy who should have the ball. If Jaylen wanted to be ‘the guy’ and have his ‘own team’, it’s going to be very tough for that to happen in Philadelphia, with all the talent that has been assembled.
Brown, Maxey, James, and Embiid all must sacrifice
Now, we’ve got a 76ers team that is a mishmash of star power with an awkward, clunky fit, and no clear hierarchy. It’s going to take a lot of sacrifice up and down the board for this to have any chance of working, and a big part of that is going to have to come from Brown, who will quickly need to learn to fit in and play as a glorified role player.
He is certainly capable, as he has been sharing the floor with stars in Boston for his whole career, but this could be another level of star power, especially in terms of players who thrive when operating with the ball. Is Jaylen willing to scale things back to a level he hasn’t had to do in years and focus on defense and transition? That remains to be seen, but that’s what it’s going to take for us to see the best version of this team.
Brown approaching season with "no ego"
Brad Stevens didn’t believe he would be willing to scale back in Boston, but maybe trading him away will humble him into doing it in Philadelphia. That’s exactly what Shams Charania of ESPN reported on NBA Today, explaining how much sacrifice will be required of the team, and stating, “One person around Jaylen Brown told me today, he’s gonna approach this with no ego."
That all sounds great, but it’s a lot easier to talk about sacrificing than to actually do it. JB is coming off a sixth-place MVP finish, scoring almost 30 points per game, making second-team All-NBA, and leading the Celtics to the second seed in the Eastern Conference.
Now he has to share the floor with two former league MVPs who will now operate as part-time players and a young ascending 25-year-old star in his own right. Brown likely sees himself as the alpha on this team, and he may not even be wrong. But when push comes to shove, will he really be okay with taking a backseat? That dynamic will be one of the more interesting things to watch for this NBA season.
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