Danny Ainge is known to be a tough negotiator when it comes to trade discussions, with the Brooklyn Nets being the infamous victims of his shark-like approach.
Gifted with plenty of young assets and a boatload of future draft picks, the already-competitive Boston Celtics’ General Manager and President of Basketball Operations often have, in fact, every kind of leverage on deals.
The recent NBA draft saw Ainge’s phone rang like crazy, but the countess talks easily died down whenever the name of Jaylen Brown gets mentioned.
Danny Ainge on @CSNNE on response when Jaylen comes up in trade talks:
"Very close to as soon as his name gets on there, we hang up."— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) June 23, 2017
Brown had an underwhelming rookie season, for a third pick, though it wasn’t due to any of his shortcomings but mainly because of the depth that the Celtics already possess. In 78 games, the 6-foot-7 wing played only 17 minutes, averaging 6.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
But Ainge knows the potential his own draftee holds and he isn’t giving him away that easy. According to Basketball-Reference.com, Brown’s per 36 minutes numbers were very solid at 13.8 points and 5.9 rebounds. For some perspective, that is close to Jae Crowder territory for the 20-year-old incoming sophomore.
Jaylen Brown projects to be a versatile two-way player in the future, and that kind of commodity is very valued in today’s NBA.
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