Jaylen Brown had a tremendous second season in the NBA, averaging 14.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game as the Boston Celtics once again reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
Brown is, rightfully, not a part of the Celtics’ Summer League squad this year, as he and Jayson Tatum were left off after playing well deep into the playoffs. However, Brown has come out to Vegas to host a bowling event for current and former players, and told The Undefeated’s Marc Spears that he’s considering joining the Celtics Summer League roster for a couple games.
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown tells @TheUndefeated that’s he is “not too good for summer league” and he is considering playing in two games. Brown is in Las Vegas and hosting “The Experience,” which is a networking event over bowling with current and ex-players tomorrow.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 9, 2018
Brown’s contention that he’s not too good for Summer League is, well, wrong. He’s a competitor and wants to play basketball in a competitive setting, which is great, but there’s also a reason he and other very good young NBA players get left off Summer League rosters. Going at full game speed, which is what Brown would do because that’s just how he plays, brings in the risk of injury, and there is zero reason for that risk to exist for the Summer League.
On top of that, Brown would be the target of every opposing guard and wing who would look at him as an opportunity to prove themselves against a legitimate budding NBA star. This would only add to the possibility of something unfortunate happening.
It’s admirable that Brown wants to play and it speaks volumes about him as a player who simply loves to get on the court, but the Celtics should probably step in and protect one of their top young players from himself in this instance. It was a bit surprising they’ve had Semi Ojeleye playing given that he was a rotation player in the conference finals, but you can understand why they would want him to get more reps, especially on offense. Brown doesn’t need those reps against Summer League-level opponents, though, and the risk seems to outweigh the reward of him playing.
