Many Boston Celtics fans are still reeling in the aftermath of the team’s shocking decision to trade Jaylen Brown to the Philadelphia 76ers. The news that Paul George and four picks would be heading to Boston came as a shock to everyone, even the players.
Fourth-year Celtics wing Jordan Walsh grew close with Brown during his first three years in Boston. The two bonded this past season during flights where they sat next to one another on the team plane. Walsh appeared on Brown’s Twitch streams and often could be seen sporting his 741 Rovers, Brown’s signature sneakers.
“I mean, it's tough,” Walsh told reporters in Las Vegas on Sunday. “It's really tough, you know, especially when it's a guy like that. Especially when it's a guy you're really close to. It's always hard to have them go.”
Brown’s belief in Walsh may have changed the course of his career. At the time, he had hardly seen any opportunity. All of a sudden, he had the minutes to get comfortable and showcase a bit of what he’s capable of.
JB vouched for Walsh early in the campaign, urging Joe Mazzulla to give the young wing some extra playing time. The former Arkansas standout quickly became a huge part of an impressive early-season hot streak. Walsh hardly missed during a three-game stretch in early December, where he sank a remarkable 18 of 19 shots.
“I know that I'm missing a guy who I'm really close with, who's a mentor for me, who's done a lot for me, and obviously we wish him the best.”
Though Walsh will clearly miss his favorite vet, he doesn’t plan on pulling any punches the first time Boston matches up with Philly this season.
“But if we had to see him on the court, then he's got to get the same treatment.”
It's officially #DifferentHere
Not only was Brown an important figure to some of Boston’s younger guys, like Walsh, but he obviously had a huge hand in their success last season and beyond. He appeared in 674 regular-season games and another 142 playoff games over the past 10 seasons.
Last year was his strongest showing, by far. He averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists per game, which was good enough to earn him a spot on the All-NBA Second Team.
It’s never easy to remove a player of that stature from the equation. At this point, that piece of it has yet to set in for Walsh or his teammates.
“Not really. I think it's kind of still kind of fresh on everybody's heads, or at least mine. So it's you know I don't think we've gotten to that bridge yet. I think everybody's just kind of here, just enjoying summer league for as long as we can.”
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