Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown had to spend a year at California before going pro in the NBA Draft, but he has an argument for why that should have been unnecessary.
Brown argued that anyone who can join the military at 18 should also be able to play in the NBA without any restrictions.
Jaylen Brown on the one-and-done rule: "I think if you can serve in the military at 18, you should be able to play in the NBA. That would be my argument."
The NBA seems to be roughly in agreement, which is why a rule change looks to be coming in the next few years. Of course, there still has to be some protective mechanism in place to make sure high schoolers aren’t getting bad advice that could permanently wreck their NBA hopes.
Jaylen Brown is not one to run away from a challenge.
Brown and Kyrie Irving were in Las Vegas on Thursday to watch the Boston Celtics’ Summer League team play. Brown, who just completed his second season in the league, spoke with reporters at halftime of the game.
As part of his comments to the media, Brown said he wished LeBron James had remained in the Eastern Conference so that the Celtics could have gone through him to reach the NBA Finals.
Jaylen Brown on LeBron leaving East: l wanted him to stay so we could try to go through him.
James left the Eastern Conference for the first time in his career when he decided to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month. He had reached eight straight NBA Finals, so beating his team would have really served as a milestone accomplishment for the young Celtics. Unfortunately for Brown, they will not be able to have that experience unless they face LeBron in the Finals.
The NBA is on fire right now, and it’s been undefeated since a for-the-ages 2017 offseason. In addition to a flurry of open-market transactions, a number of stars changed teams via trade, fundamentally shifting the league’s power dynamics.
Indiana shipped Paul George to Oklahoma City. The Clippers sent Chris Paul to Houston. Chicago traded disgruntled Jimmy Butler to Minnesota.
Which stars could be on the move this offseason? Here is our perspective on 10 who could change uniforms.
10. Markelle Fultz
The 2017 No. 1 overall pick had an up-and-down rookie season. After struggling with a shoulder injury and re-learning how to shoot (for a good breakdown of that strange situation, read this piece from PhillyVoice), he played in 14 games and showed glimpses of brilliance. He averaged 7.1 points, 3.8 assists, and 3.1 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game. The 20-year-old flashed the uncanny speed, change of pace, and athleticism that wowed draft scouts. His stock is low at the moment, but his upside is huge. He could be a central figure in Philly’s efforts to acquire Kawhi Leonard.
The Boston Celtics are always a threat to make a big move before or during the NBA Draft, and they are reportedly interested in moving into the top five to add to a young core that may be the best in the league. The problem is, however, that they may not be able to make such a move without giving up one of their up-and-coming stars.
Sam Amick of USA Today said Thursday that he expects “fireworks” before the draft with Boston looking to move up, but he notes that any trade will be difficult to facilitate without Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown.
As NBA draft day begins, a general prediction: Fireworks to come. Boston (No. 27) is still trying to move up into top 5, but will have a hard time so long as they continue keeping Brown or Tatum off the table. Clippers (Nos. 12/13) are itchy. Milwaukee (17) wants more picks.
The Celtics may be willing to trade Brown in the right deal, but Tatum is about as close to untouchable as it gets. He proved in the absence of Kyrie Irving during the playoffs that he has the potential to be a franchise player and a legitimate star.
If the Celtics were to trade Brown, it would probably be for one specific player. It seems unlikely that team president Danny Ainge would give up proven young NBA talent just to draft a player like Mo Bamba or Luka Doncic.
Jaylen Brown had a really rough start in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Monday night.
Brown began the game shooting just 1-for-9 as the Boston Celtics fell behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. He missed a layup, a couple of threes, and he two shots blocked by Kyle Korver and a third by Larry Nance Jr.
As if all that weren’t bad enough, he had a double-whammy at the end of the first quarter. Not only did Brown defy coach Brad Stevens’ instructions to hold for the last possession of the quarter, but he also missed a dunk.
Jaylen Brown is ready to prove that the Boston Celtics can win on the road in the NBA playoffs.
Brown’s Celtics lead the Eastern Conference Finals 2-0 in their best of seven with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The series heads to Cleveland for two games, beginning on Saturday. Though Boston has won two series so far, they are only 1-4 on the road this postseason. They lost all three at Milwaukee and went 1-1 in Philadelphia.
Brown was asked Thursday about the team’s road struggles and had a good response.
Jaylen Brown asked about Boston’s road struggles during the postseason.
"My reaction is I can't wait for Game 3, and I'll just leave it at that."
“My reaction is I can’t wait for Game 3, and I’ll just leave it at that,” Brown said via ESPN’s Chris Forsberg.
Sweeping both games in Cleveland would probably prove challenging, but the expectations are that Boston could split and take a 3-1 series lead back home. They are very much in control of the series.
Brad Stevens and Jaylen Brown were called for technical fouls back-to-back late in the third quarter of Game 4 between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
Jaylen Brown was called for his fifth foul while defending Irsan Elyasova with just over three minutes remaining in the quarter. Brown thought he would need to exit the game, but Stevens told him to stay in. Brown got whistled for a tech. Shortly thereafter, Stevens was also called for a tech.
Marco Belinelli shot both technical free throws for the Sixers and made them to push Philly’s lead to nine. Ilyasova making his shot plus the free throw as well as the techs really helped swing things in the Sixers’ favor.
When so many calls like that go against a team in sequence, it leads people to start questioning whether officials are trying to extend a series. Boston entered Game 4 with a 3-0 lead.
The Boston Celtics somehow continue to win games despite dealing with numerous key injuries, and they should have a chance to field an even better lineup against the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2.
After he watched his teammates dominate the Sixers in a 117-101 Game 1 victory, Jaylen Brown said he will be back on the court Thursday.
Brown said he tried to convince Boston’s medical staff that he was good to go for Game 1, but they decided to play it safe.
“There was some concern that I could re-aggravate it and it becomes a season-ending injury,” he said. “I’m basically trying to come back in two days from a two-week type injury.”
Brown hurt his hamstring in Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks last round, and the injury seems relatively minor with the way he has described it. The 21-year-old emerged as a major contributor for the Celtics with 14.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game during the regular season, and he was even better when he averaged 17.9 points in the series against Milwaukee. His return will give Brad Stevens some much-needed depth.
Jaylen Brown is doubtful for Game 1 of the Boston Celtics’ Eastern Conference semifinals playoff series with the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night.
Brown hurt his hamstring in Game 7 of the Celtics’ win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday and did not play in the second half. Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said on Saturday that he did not want to take chances with the health of a young player like Brown, which is why he didn’t play in the second half of that game. It would make sense then that the team would play things cautiously against Philly.
“The last email I saw [from trainers is] that [Brown] still has some soreness,” Stevens said Sunday, via ESPN’s Chris Forsberg. “Didn’t try to do anything, that I know of, running-wise today. He did have some testing, and that looked good, thankfully. Doubtful for tomorrow. But I guess he could play … [and] it looks like it could be something that allows him to play as the series goes on.”
Brown said on Saturday that he had a grade 1 hamstring strain.
Jaylen Brown on hamstring: "It’s a little sore. It could be worse. I’m told it was Grade 1. I’ll get an MRI tomorrow, see how it feels and go from there."
Boston Celtics shooting guard Jaylen Brown left Thursday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves after a horrible looking fall in the third quarter, but fortunately it seems like he is going to be just fine.
After he lost his balance on a dunk and slammed his head and neck area off the court, Brown was eventually able to walk off under his own power. That was a positive sign, as was the tweet he sent after the game.
Appreciate everybody I'm ok .. Got a headache tho good team win !!
