Ideal Fits
Defining Jaylen Brown’s ideal fit goes beyond the typical confines of basketball ability. The team Brown plays for must have a strong structure and understanding of how Brown operates as a human being.
According to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated, Brown is an inquisitive individual with a hunger to learn—an approach that can be misconstrued as questioning authority.
"“He is an extremely intelligent kid,” the NBA assistant general manager said. “He took a graduate school class at Cal in his freshman year. He is a person who is inquisitive about everything. Because he is so smart, it might be intimidating to some teams. He wants to know why you are doing something instead of just doing it. I don’t think it’s bad, but it’s a form of questioning authority. “It’s not malicious. He just wants to know what is going on. Old-school coaches don’t want guys that question stuff.”"
Understanding Brown as a person is as important as anything that happens on the court.
Brown has a desire to learn and grow, and that can rub some coaches the wrong way—and yes, that’s as crazy as it sounds. He takes coaching well, and wants to develop a deeper understanding of how a system is run, and why it’s run that way.
That makes the first ideal fit quite obvious: Brad Stevens and the deeply structured Boston Celtics.
The Phoenix Suns fit on paper, although new head coach Earl Watson is a wildcard. From there, Alvin Gentry and the New Orleans Pelicans create intrigue at No. 6, and Michael Malone and the Denver Nuggets would be a perfect fit at No. 7.
Regardless of which team drafts Brown, its coach must understand that Brown is inquisitive, and not necessarily an antiestablishmentarian.
must read: Upside comparisons for the Top 30 players in the 2016 NBA Draft
Brown could be special, or he could be a bust. One way or another, he’ll be a fascinating player to watch.