Whether intended or not, Jaylen Brown caused quite a stir with his Twitch stream the day after the Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs by the 76ers. JB went live for hours, breaking down the game, giving the Sixers props, lamenting on a great season, and hitting on many other interesting topics.
It was a nice introspective look at JB’s mindset after the best regular season of his career, but it rubbed people the wrong way for a few reasons. For one, the timing and optics weren’t great, just one day after blowing a 3-1 series lead in the first round against the Sixers.
But the main part of the stream that drew attention and aggregation was Brown’s criticism of certain players, namely Joel Embiid, for flopping, and his critical comments towards officials for rewarding the flopping, among other issues.
Donovan Mitchell sticks up for Jaylen Brown
On Tuesday, the league fined Brown for his comments, but that wasn’t quite the end of it. After the Cavaliers’ loss to the Pistons in Game 1 of their second-round series, Donovan Mitchell took the podium and seemed to agree with Brown, stating:
"A friend of mine got fined for talking about flop...I feel like that's what I gotta do at this point. I'm trying to get to the bucket...I'm just not getting the calls. I don't know why. I don't flop, maybe that's why."
It doesn’t take much dot connecting to realize that Mitchell is referring to Jaylen. The two have been friends dating back to high school, and played together on the 2019 USA Select Team, before bonding even further in the 2020 bubble.
And with most of the NBA world moving against JB, his friend Mitchell is sticking himself out there and agreeing. It may seem like a small gesture, but it clearly shows there are other star players out there who are sick of the flopping and are happy that Jaylen spoke up.
Mitchell could become trade target for Celtics
With the Cavs down 1-0, and Mitchell still seeking his first conference finals appearance, there’s a lot of pressure on this Cleveland team with one of hte league’s highest payrolls. If they crash out in this round, they may have to blow it up, and with an extension looming for Mitchell, they could look to trade their superstar.
Mitchell could be a natural fit in Boston, taking over lead guard duties with Brown and Jayson Tatum flanking him on the wing. It’s obviously a long shot, but in this world where Celtics fans are daydreaming about a superstar trade for the likes of Giannis or Kevin Durant, there’s no reason that Donovan shouldn’t be considered as well.
Basketball-wise, the fit would be ideal, and he already has a good relationship with Brown and Tatum. There’s a world where this becomes the next ‘big 3’ in Boston, and this trio is trying to lead the Celtics to their next title.
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