Where does Jaylen rank among SGs?

[Roy H.]

His better days are behind him, but isn't James Harden a SG? How did he not make the top 25 list?

They consider Harden the PG and Maxey the SG in Philly.

[sgrogan]

Jaylen as a shooting guard can credibly guard power forwards, even shut some good ones down(see Siakam, P., 2020 playoffs). Please point me to the other top level SGs that can do that.

This is why I question whether Jaylen is actually a shooting guard.  Defensively he’s a 3.  Offensively he’s more of a 3 too.  That the Celtics have two such starters (the other being Tatum) doesn’t make Jaylen actually a 2.

Put another way — look at that top 6 Roy put out.  If Jaylen played on any of the teams with the others, he’d be the 3 every time.  Do that thought experiment with the others and you aren’t going to find someone else who always comes out as the 3.

Good point. Jaylen by this analysis, is a top 20ish player, playing out of position.

[johnnygreen]

I think Brown at three is about right. He is the best defensive player in that top 5. However, he simply can't create offense like those other guys either.

[JSD]

Ranking SGs? What is it 2010? Jaylen is a top 10 wing in the league

[celticsclay]

I don't think Boston would become better by trading Jaylen for any of those players.  Only case I could make is maybe Ant Edwards.

Which guys on that list would not be traded by their current teams for Jaylen?  Booker, Klay, probably Mitchell?, probably Edwards.  Probably CJ McCollum too b/c of his role there.  CJ really impressed me last few months.

I'd rank them:
1. Booker
2. Jaylen
3. Mitchell
4. Edwards
5. Lavine
6. CJ
7. Klay
8. Beal

Then a dropoff.  Those top 8 guys are all pretty close to me.

If you are saying the pelicans wouldn’t trade cj McCollum for brown straight up that strikes me as very wild. They would probably happily add two draft picks along with cj and still trade him for brown. Why wouldn’t they?

[BudweiserCeltic]

All this is showing me that the NBA is devoid of talent in the SG position.

[SHAQATTACK]

I agree with the top three guys , but not in that order.  Sorry .

Jaylen is the most complete player with height  and isn’t done getting better . 

I like Booker next with Mitchell close behind .


The rest are either old , crippled , ball hogs , devas or can’t play defense , to slow or won’t half try.  Too much baggage with some of the names.

[celticsclay]

I’ll also add the version of klay we saw in playoffs is probably what I expect moving forward. He has definitely had a big fall off defensively and is worse off the dribble because of his injuries.

[Atzar]

A couple of things come to mind when I see that list.

The first is that Devin Booker and Anthony Edwards are the only guys on it that I would take over Jaylen, and in Ant's case that's because of what I believe he'll become rather than what he is right now.  I've made my opinion of Mitchell known elsewhere on this board... not a big fan.  LaVine could make a solid case for himself if he returns to his form from the 20-21 season, but he was low-key disappointing for much of last year - his volume, efficiency, and defense all declined despite better surrounding talent.

The second is that I find 'best at _____ position' discussions to be more and more nebulous with each passing year.  The only somewhat-reliable rules of NBA positions nowadays are that the guy who initiates the offense is usually (but not always) the point guard and the guy who protects the rim is usually (but not always) the center.  Everybody else is thrown into this mishmash of wings and forwards that no longer feel distinct to me, in most cases.  Just pick three that can guard most opponents and complement each other on offense, and go to work. 

[gouki88]

The shooting guard position doesn't really seem to exist anymore to me.

AntMan above Beal is interesting

[GreenlyGreeny]

1. Book
2. Ant-Man
3. JB
4. Lavine
5. Mitchell
6. Beal

Defense matters in my opinion, although it’s foolish to not recognize Book as the best 2 in the league these days (his defense has become respectable, unlike Beal and Mitchell). Ant-Man may surpass him as soon as this year (he’s still only 20). JB is the only one who is elite at the 3. Speaking of which, here are my top six at SF:

1. JT
2. LeBron
3. Jimmy Buckets
4. PG-13
5. Khris Middleton
6. Mikal Bridges

If JT and/or LeBron were slotted at the 4, I’d have JB almost tied with Middleton and probably a hair above Bridges. Obviously I’m slotting Kawhi at the 4, but I think he’s number one at the 3.

[gouki88]

1. Book
2. Ant-Man
3. JB
4. Lavine
5. Mitchell
6. Beal

Defense matters in my opinion, although it’s foolish to not recognize Book as the best 2 in the league these days (his defense has become respectable, unlike Beal and Mitchell). Ant-Man may surpass him as soon as this year (he’s still only 20). JB is the only one who is elite at the 3. Speaking of which, here are my top six at SF:

1. JT
2. LeBron
3. Jimmy Buckets
4. PG-13
5. Khris Middleton
6. Mikal Bridges

If JT and/or LeBron were slotted at the 4, I’d have JB almost tied with Middleton and probably a hair above Bridges. Obviously I’m slotting Kawhi at the 4, but I think he’s number one at the 3.

Anthony Edwards ahead of Jaylen Brown is hilarious.

[Moranis]

1. Book
2. Ant-Man
3. JB
4. Lavine
5. Mitchell
6. Beal

Defense matters in my opinion, although it’s foolish to not recognize Book as the best 2 in the league these days (his defense has become respectable, unlike Beal and Mitchell). Ant-Man may surpass him as soon as this year (he’s still only 20). JB is the only one who is elite at the 3. Speaking of which, here are my top six at SF:

1. JT
2. LeBron
3. Jimmy Buckets
4. PG-13
5. Khris Middleton
6. Mikal Bridges

If JT and/or LeBron were slotted at the 4, I’d have JB almost tied with Middleton and probably a hair above Bridges. Obviously I’m slotting Kawhi at the 4, but I think he’s number one at the 3.

Anthony Edwards ahead of Jaylen Brown is hilarious.

Not as bad as his SF list, as you would expect Edwards to take another leap this year and could end up ahead of Brown as a result.

[gouki88]

1. Book
2. Ant-Man
3. JB
4. Lavine
5. Mitchell
6. Beal

Defense matters in my opinion, although it’s foolish to not recognize Book as the best 2 in the league these days (his defense has become respectable, unlike Beal and Mitchell). Ant-Man may surpass him as soon as this year (he’s still only 20). JB is the only one who is elite at the 3. Speaking of which, here are my top six at SF:

1. JT
2. LeBron
3. Jimmy Buckets
4. PG-13
5. Khris Middleton
6. Mikal Bridges

If JT and/or LeBron were slotted at the 4, I’d have JB almost tied with Middleton and probably a hair above Bridges. Obviously I’m slotting Kawhi at the 4, but I think he’s number one at the 3.

Anthony Edwards ahead of Jaylen Brown is hilarious.

Not as bad as his SF list, as you would expect Edwards to take another leap this year and could end up ahead of Brown as a result.

Gawd. I hadn't even read the SF list...

[Vegas Green]

Devin Booker
Bradley Beal
Jaylen Brown
Donovan Mitchell
Zach Lavine
Anthony Edwards