Even the fans who booed when Jaylen Brown‘s name was announced at a 2016 draft party have to admit the Celtics made the right choice, writes Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. On his way to capturing an NBA title and the Finals MVP trophy, Brown faced plenty of doubters throughout his eight years in Boston, including those who believed he and Jayson Tatum couldn’t play together, those who wanted him traded for Kevin Durant, and those who thought he was wildly overpaid when he signed a five-year, $286MM extension last offseason.
“Just the story and the journey is awesome,” Brown said. “You know, just being drafted here in Boston, like a lot of the people probably didn’t watch me play in the Pac-12 at Cal. It led to a lot of people feeling a way about that. I just came in and kept my head down and told myself, ‘I’m going to just keep working.’ And to be here in this moment now, through all the years, through all the doubt, through all of the ups and downs, through all of the verdicts, through all of the everything, it just makes the story that much sweeter.”
Brown also addressed the possibility of repeating, something no NBA champion has been able to do since 2018. Boston is in position to keep virtually its entire roster intact, which Brown believes will provide an edge.
“I think we have an opportunity. I think we definitely have a window,” he said. “We take it one day at a time. We definitely have to make sure we stay healthy. But, you know, we’ll enjoy the summer, enjoy the moment, and then we get right back to it next year.”
There’s more from Boston:
- This year’s title was especially meaningful to 38-year-old Al Horford, who discussed the bonds he has formed with fans throughout New England, per Jay King of The Athletic. Horford was grateful for the chance to return to the Celtics in a 2021 trade after leaving for Philadelphia in free agency in 2019. “I’ve been all over the country and I just haven’t seen the love, the care and the commitment from people towards not only their sports but their community,” he said.
- Coach Joe Mazzulla has been dealing with a torn meniscus in his knee, but he was one of the most active figures during Friday’s championship parade, observes Brian Robb of MassLive. Mazzulla, who jumped off his duck boat and ran through the street to high-five fans, said the injury helped him focus during the latter part of the season. “I’ll tell you what, it was one of the best things that happened to me for the rest of the season because it put me in this fight or flight mentality where I could just not relax,” Mazzulla said. “I had to constantly train to keep it pain-free, had to constantly get physical therapy. My physical therapist has been great and it was just awesome. I’ve been thinking about maybe getting hurt every All-Star break.”
- Any changes the Celtics make this offseason are likely to come at the margins, notes Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. Backup centers Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman are both unrestricted free agents, but Himmelsbach believes Boston likes the flexibility they offer and will try to re-sign them using Bird rights. Oshae Brissett has a player option on his minimum-salary deal, while the team holds an option on Neemias Queta, and Svi Mykhailiuk will be a free agent. Himmelsbach suggests the Celtics might keep a roster spot or two open in case there are ring-chasing veterans willing to sign for a discount. He also notes that Brad Stevens will be picking in the first round at this week’s draft for the first time since taking over as team president. Boston, which holds the 30th pick, hasn’t made a first-round selection since 2020.
Expansion into Vegas/Mexico City/Seattle is cool but the next really big move for the NBA is to either buy the BIG3 or start their own 3v3 league. A launch date of summer 2029 to capitalize on the LA Olympics would be sorta perfect.. link to m.youtube.com
Thanks, Sillivan
Thanks, Celts508
Danny walked so Stevens could run, and Mazulla could limp. Never forget…
They never would’ve won if Ainge was GM. He was too scared to trade picks. He never would’ve make the White or Holiday trades.
He gave up 2 for Garnett and the rights to the No.5 pick that year to acquire Ray.
They would have never had Tatum and brown without Danny trading in The first place.
So trading 2 hall of famers in pierce and kg plus jason terry for basically tatum and brown also snoolered philly in drafting markelle fultz and getting an additional first is not a awesome trade
Danny did right keeping Brown. Who knows what would have happen if Danny stayed on but remember if tatum does not step on a foot and sprain his ankle in game 7 of the ECF we could have been in the finals last year. I think Danny would have traded for KP. He would not have given up Nesmith I don’t believe. But Danny would have made some moves to win. His Biggest mistake was keeping Rivers to long as coach. Let see what he does in Utah!
2016 nba draft ….. Jalen went 3rd
Look who went 1 and 2…..
1- Ben Simmons
2- Brandon Ingram
They also had 2 more first round picks that flopped that could’ve been Siakim and Dejounte Murray. Tho it’s a stretch they’d ever develop to who they are if that was the case.
I believe the main reason the fans were upset is because they wanted them to trade for a establish player because all we kept hearing was they have so many tradable assets and we had “trader” Danny in charge and fans wanted a fast rebuild