WALTHAM, Mass. – Cal-Berkeley’s Jaylen Brown, among the players the Boston Celtics will give some thought to with the No. 3 overall pick in the June 23 NBA draft, was in town for a workout on Wednesday.
Danny Ainge, Boston’s president of basketball operations, said the 6-foot-7 guard/forward “looked pretty good in the workout.”
Although Brown spent just one season at Cal before entering this year’s NBA draft, he is a player that the Celtics are quite familiar with.
Coming out of high school, multiple recruiting services had Brown rated as the No. 2 player in the country behind Ben Simmons who went to LSU and is expected to be the No. 1 or No. 2 pick in this month's draft.
“We’ve seen him (Brown) a lot,” Austin Ainge told CSNNE.com. “The first time I saw Jaylen he was 17 in a camp and I saw him in three or four camps since then, and high school and a lot of college games. We’ve seen him a lot.”
Austin Ainge said Brown’s workout was catered around putting him in NBA game-like situations, similar to what they do with other workout prospects.
“Pick-and-rolls, some post-ups, some transition stuff both on offense and defense, some shooting drills,” said Austin Ainge when asked about some of the workout specifics.
Boston Celtics
In addition to the Celtics, Brown is reportedly going to work out for the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers who hold the No. 1 and 2 picks, respectively.
Brown is considered by most to be a top-10 pick, with most Mock drafts having him fall somewhere between the No. 3 and No. 5 picks.
In the most recent CSNNE.com Mock Draft, Brown is pegged to be selected by Phoenix with the No. 4 pick.
Brown averaged 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds per game at Cal along with 2.0 assists.
But there’s more to like about his game than the statistics he posted for the Golden Bears.
For those who have seen little of the 19-year-old, his strengths at the NBA level immediately stem from the fact that he has an NBA-ready body with a 7-foot wingspan.
He has proven to be excellent at slashing into the lane and finishing in transition, as well as being an above-average defender.
But the biggest knocks on him involve his shot mechanics and perimeter shooting, both of which have been inconsistent.
Because he has been such a good slasher and finisher for years, his 3-point shooting has also been identified as an area in need of improvement. In his lone season at Cal, he shot just 29.4 percent on 3s.
He has also proven to be too turnover-prone which is evident by him averaging 3.1 turnovers per game.
But like most of the prospects rated near the top of the draft board, Brown’s strengths as a player outweigh his weaknesses.