NBA Trades: 4 teams that should want Jaylen Brown
By Rob Greene
The Boston Celtics, entering the midway point, have yet to meet any sort of expectations for a squad whose core led them to two out of three Eastern Conference Final appearances just a couple of years ago.
The team’s 25-year-old All-Star, Jaylen Brown, has shown outstanding improvement when he has been healthy on the court.
NBA Trades: 4 teams that should want Jaylen Brown
The guard out of California, in his 23 outings, is now putting up 24 points per game with six rebounds and shooting 45 percent from the field and 36 percent from three.
With his 50-point, 11-board, four-assist, and two-block performance against Orlando, which helped lead the Celtics to a much-needed win, Brown became the fourth Celtic in franchise history to record a 50 and 10-rebound game. He joined Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and teammate Jayson Tatum.
Head coach Ime Udoke touted his confidence in Boston’s two young stars when he joined the team this past offseason:
"“It is something that you see in the perception of them outside of this organization is All-NBA-level players, MVP-caliber players and getting to know them over the last few years, you have seen their growth. They have taken huge leaps this past year and we look forward to them continuing in that progress. Like I said, the sky is the limit with those guys.” – Head Coach Ime Udoka during his introductory press conference."
Brown has missed 14 contests this season due to hamstring issues and potentially jumped the gun in his first return back to action. When he has been on the floor healthy, he has shown another leap in his game.
Though the Celtics have obviously made it known that they have no interest in breaking up their tremendous duo by dealing Brown, there are plenty of teams on the market who would thrive with him.
What teams around the league would benefit from Brown’s two-way presence?