NBA: Top 10 Candidates For Rookie Of The Year Award In 2016-17

Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver holds a basketball while posing for a photo with draft prospects from left Buddy Hield (Oklahoma) , Ben Simmons (LSU), Brandon Ingram (Duke) and Kris Dunn (Providence) before the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

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Jun 23, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Jaylen Brown (California) is interviewed after being selected as the number three overall pick to the Boston Celtics in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports /

9. Jaylen Brown

Like Bender, we couldn’t ignore someone taken as early as Jaylen Brown, who was selected by the Boston Celtics with the third overall pick. After an impressive Summer League debut, listing him at No. 9 might not be giving him enough credit.

In addition to being a lockdown wing defender, the 19-year-old Brown averaged 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game. Though he shot a dismal 30.7 percent from the field and 27.2 percent from downtown, he finished Summer League with three straight 20+ scoring performances and pulled down at least seven boards in each one.

Stevens on Jaylen Brown: "He’s a young guy in a man’s league. He's gotta get a lot better. Time will tell, but he certainly has high upside"
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) September 21, 2016

There’s no question that Brown has things to work on. His perimeter shot is far too unreliable at this stage to be anything other than Jae Crowder‘s second or third string backup, and like Bender, he’s a high-upside pick who may struggle to prove himself as NBA-ready as a rookie.

But if anything happens to Crowder, Gerald Green is really the only other player on Boston’s roster who can play the 3-spot, and even if Crowder stays completely healthy, Brown will be playing meaningful minutes off the bench on a playoff-caliber team.