Boston Celtics
Brown likes to be cryptic and casually candid, after which do the I-can’t-believe-this-is-a-big-deal routine when one thing he says catches fireplace.
What Jaylen Brown stated about this being “his favourite season” within the aftermath of the Celtics’ season-ending loss to the Sixers Sunday may need flabbergasted these unfamiliar together with his Twitch-chat takes, given he was an NBA Finals Most Helpful Participant two years in the past.
However for these acquainted with his skill to learn the chat room however not an precise room, flabbergasting received’t equate to stunning.
Brown likes to be cryptic and casually candid, after which do the I-can’t-believe-this-is-a-big-deal routine when one thing he says catches fireplace.
This did, predictably and for good purpose. Brown stated in so many phrases that he higher loved taking part in for a 56-win staff that performed the overwhelming majority of the season with out Jayson Tatum than he did for the one which collected the 18th championship banner in franchise historical past.
He didn’t stroll again that sentiment on one other Twitch chat Wednesday, but he did offer some clarity. That got here hours after Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens had his exit interview with the media in Brighton and needed to deal with, amongst different issues, a remark by supposed Brown confidante Tracy McGrady that the participant had some frustrations with the group.
“Me and Brad have an incredible relationship,” stated Brown. “I hate that Brad even had to answer this. I like Boston. If it was as much as me, I’d play in Boston for the subsequent 10 years. I’ll say it once more: I hate that Brad even had to answer this.”
Then he elaborated on his “favourite yr” declaration.
“The expectations was the staff [would] be nothing, simply to provide in to and to give up. And this staff did the precise reverse. We fought each single day. We fought for every part.
“I bought to see Jayson Tatum come again from an harm, mentally overcome what [it] takes … this is part of the rationale why this was my favourite yr.”
That’s reply. Nevertheless it doesn’t reply every part, as he acknowledged with “half” of the rationale.
And once I take into consideration what to date has been left unsaid, I discover myself questioning if that is the offseason to commerce Brown.
I’m not arguing they need to commerce him. I thought of going that far, stepping out on that ledge, however I can’t. Not but.
Let’s put it this fashion: the opportunity of buying and selling Brown have to be completely investigated. And the best way the season ended, I’m extra intrigued by a possible Giannis Antetokounmpo commerce than I used to be two weeks in the past.
If that is one thing Celtics followers don’t wish to think about, after all, I get it.
There may be a lot to love about Brown, on the courtroom and off. His appreciation for being a Celtic is one hundred pc real, as evidenced superbly in HBO’s “Celtics Metropolis” docuseries that got here out final yr. He cherishes being a part of the identical storied franchise as Invoice Russell. He provides his time and his cash to the worthiest of causes on this metropolis.
He’s fairly respectable on the basketball half, too. He deserves to be first-team All-NBA this season — despite the fact that some metrics make a counterargument. He works maniacally, as does Tatum, to enhance from yr to yr. He’s, by all measures, an incredible Celtic.
He’ll even be 30 within the coming season, and regardless of his very good work ethic, there’s a logical chance that this season stands as his peak. He’s not a pure shooter and isn’t environment friendly, and as soon as his otherworldly athleticism (even by NBA participant requirements) begins trickling away, scoring will change into harder. We bought a glimpse of what that appeared like within the second-round loss to the Knicks final yr, when he had an ailing knee and no carry. It was not encouraging, but it surely was alarmingly illuminating.
And once more, what has remained unsaid? What do you suppose Tatum tells his confidants about Brown saying that is his favourite yr?
What was the key distinction between Celtics groups of latest classic and this one? Tatum’s absence for all however 16 video games of the common season (and 6 within the postseason), clearly.
If I’m Tatum, I’m questioning what Brown was implying past what was stated. Did he suppose the Celtics would have received the Sixers collection had he not come again? Was Brown pissed off with Tatum’s return to his ball-dominating methods after a reentry interval through which he briefly performed the Scottie Pippen-like position of facilitator?
The dynamic with the Celtics’ two superstars has at all times been compelling. They’ve received dozens upon dozens of playoff video games, and their partnership has at all times labored effectively within the composite, even when they play reverse of one another greater than with one another.
They’ve additionally been complicit in a number of postseason departures, and it have to be famous that their championship season included at the least two “position gamers” which might be going to the Corridor of Fame.
I don’t know if that dynamic is altering. However we all know this: The season through which Jayson Tatum was largely a bystander was Jaylen Brown’s favourite.
One thing tells me it’s not the very last thing we’re going to find this offseason.
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