I'm excited about Brown about as much as I was for Smart when he was drafted. However, unlike with Smart back in 2014, I don't expect Brown to make much of an impact on the team his rookie year, but that's not on him. That's more on the fact that the team's dynamic has changed drastically in the two years between when Smart was drafted and when Brown was drafted. Still though, I'm really excited to see what Brown is made of and I'm still excited to see what Smart is made of.
Smart should have a bigger role now that Turner is gone so we should finally get to see what he is capable of this season. I'm optimistic about Smart but if he turns out to be a Michael Kidd-Gilchrist/Tony Allen type player, that's not a bad thing because love or hate those guys, they play a huge role in helping their teams win. Those guys aren't offensive powerhouses, but what they bring on the defensive end is not something that can be easily replaced.
With Brown, I don't have huge expectations on his impact this season but I do think he has some great potential a few years down the line, but we'll have to wait until then.
The bottom line is both of these guys, along with Rozier, are the X Factor to this team both now and in the future. The reason why we're okay with the Celtics trying to win now is because we are hoping Smart/Rozier/Brown will either be key players on the Celtics next championship team or they'll be centerpieces in the trade the Celtics hope to make for a superstar. Here's to hoping.