The Boston Celtics went on to finish the 2022-23 regular season with the league’s second-best record in the association at 57-25. Leading the charge for the ball club were the usual suspects of cornerstones Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. For their on-court efforts, both wings have garnered some serious noise regarding their All-NBA candidacies.
Though for the former such an honor has already come his way twice before over the last two consecutive seasons leading into this one, the latter in Brown has yet to receive such a moniker and, when recently speaking with The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, the 26-year-old noted that he believes his time could come this season.
“I think I’m more than deserving. This is the second-best team in the league. I’ve played nothing but winning basketball, helped lead my team and I’m in the [top] 10 in scoring and I’m efficient. I guess you look at the criteria and I think I more than meet it. We’ve dominated for the most part of the season. I’ve been available. What more do people want,” Jaylen Brown said.
Jaylen Brown (41 PTS, 13 REB) was a FORCE on the floor in the @celtics‘ third-straight win ☘️
Brown would continue on by noting that while he certainly believes he’s worthy of being selected to an All-NBA team, ultimately he understands that, at the end of the day, the voting turnout is “out of my control.”
Putting forth his best season as a member of the Celtics, the two-time All-Star finished the year boasting averages of 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 49.1% from the field.
Celtics’ Jaylen Brown on Damian Lillard’s Trade Wish List
While the Celtics may currently be preparing to embark on their ninth-straight postseason run, 10 other teams across the association have officially entered their offseason and, for the likes of the Portland Trail Blazers, there’s already noise that they may be gearing up for quite an eventful summer.
Following the public comments made by superstar guard Damian Lillard where he suggested that the organization should look to continue bolstering the roster talent around him for a win-now push, Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports insinuated that the seven-time All-Star has a “list” of trade targets he’d like Portland to pursue and, one particular star presumed to be on said list is Jaylen Brown.
“I’ll say this, Jaylen Brown is a player that Damian Lillard has had on his list.” – @JakeLFischer on a player/team situation to watch this summer.
“I’ll say that Jaylen Brown is a player that I believe Damian Lillard has had on his proverbial list of those switchy wing-type secondary stars like the Jerami Grants and the Aaron Gordons that have been recently linked to Portland and Dame for a while now,” Fischer said to Dirt & Sprague on 1080 The FAN.
Should such a hypothetical move take place, the Blazers would have a chance to formulate the league’s newest highly tantalizing Big-3 consisting of Jaylen Brown, Damian Lillard, and the likely-to-re-sign Jerami Grant.
Grant Williams Focused on Celtics Playoff Run, Not Offseason
Though the Blazers and Damian Lillard may already be gearing up to make some serious moves this offseason, impending free agent Grant Williams seemingly couldn’t be further from focusing on such a mindset.
In a recent sit-down with HoopsHype’s Sam Yip, the fourth-year forward discussed his upcoming date with the summer’s open market and suggested that, at this point in time, his sights are solely set on trying to help the Celtics during this year’s postseason.
Fun chat with @Grant2Will about the Celtics Finals redemption, the hate he gets, and a reply to Draymond Green’s critic about the CBA for @hoopshype 👀
“Nah, you got to focus on today, brother,” Williams said. “You can’t focus on tomorrow, can only focus on what’s in front of you. For me, it’s always been about playing to the best ability that I can and winning as many titles as I can while I’m here. So after that, whatever happens, this free agency cycle, that’ll be determined this summer after, hopefully, we got the ring in my hand. So that’s the main priority. No. 1 is focused on getting this ring first.”
Despite his unwillingness to focus on free agency, reports are that Grant Williams will be seeking somewhere in the range of $20 million annually.
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Jaylen Brown Sounds Off on All-NBA Fate as Celtics Prep For Playoffs