Why would you ever trade Jaylen Brown?
If you were to trade for that mythical first-tier big, you’d be doing it to add to Tatum and Brown, not to replace one of them. The whole idea is to build a championship contender, not to keep shuffling the deck.
I suppose we’ll keep hearing comments about Jaylen’s deficient ballhandling for a while. That’s one of those things that keeps getting echoed, despite its long being untrue. Hey - he’s a wizard with the ball. Not only that: he turns it over at a microscopic rate even as he is constantly taking it to the basket.
Another perspective on that: his turnover% has dropped each season he’s been in the league, while his assist% has risen each season. And that has happened even as his usage% has also risen each season.
He’s become highly effective at the short midrange this year. At .524, you want him taking those shots, whether out of the drive or mid-post.
So far 19.3% on the defensive board, outstanding for a wing. Sustainable? Maybe. But it’s worth noting for another reason - it’s an area of emphasis for the coaching staff this season, so that number is yet another mark of his coachability and team-first attitude.
Big breakthrough in free-throw shooting. Three years of grade-D, now at last he’s shooting grade-B. Probably sustainable, but he has a long history of mediocrity.
Leader, team-first. He checks all the boxes. Got the extension done, on terms that fit the Celtics’ strategic planning, and taking a big piece of uncertainty out of the trade deadline and beyond.
Some guys plateau or even decline when they get a big contract; like Marcus Smart, he’s the opposite.
