Celtics Draft Cal Forward Jaylen Brown 3rd Overall
BOSTON (CBS) -- After weeks of trade rumors and chatter, the Boston Celtics used the third overall pick in Thursday night's draft, selecting Cal forward Jaylen Brown.
The 6-foot-7, 225 pounds forward averaged 14.6 points on 48 percent shooting (29 percent from three-point range) and 5.4 rebounds per game in his only season for the Golden Bears. The 19-year-old is extremely athletic, can attack the basket with authority and can play solid defense on bigger players with his 7-foot-2 wingspan. But he has a lot of work to do, and will have to work on his jumper to advance his game in the NBA.
"They're looking for somebody to add, not take away from what they're doing, so that's what I'm gonna do," Brown said after being drafted.
Brown worked out for the Celtics for a second time in the week leading up to the draft, and apparently impressed Danny Ainge enough to use Boston's first pick of the evening on him.
"We grew very fond of Jaylen. He's a 19-year-old in a man's body," Ainge said after the conclusion of the draft.
He doesn't sound very concerned with Brown's need for an improved jumper, either.
"Jaylen is not a finished product but he's not a bad shooter," he said. "A lot of guys come in as non-shooters and become good shooters."
The pick was met with mixed reaction at the Celtics' draft party.
Shortly after the selection was made, Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said the team intends on keeping Brown.
"We did not sniff a trade today," Grousbeck told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Adam Jones after the selection. "It was a collection of rip-off attempts, and we laughed at them."
While Celtics fans may not have liked the pick at first, there is a lot of promise in Brown. He's an extremely confident player and believes he can help the Celtics right away.
"I see myself playing guard, forward or wherever coach needs me. I can be a primarily ball-handler or play in the post. I can get it off the glass and push it off the floor. Most importantly, I can defend all those positions as well," he told WBZ-TV's Steve Burton. "That's what the NBA is based off of, who you can guard. I can defend a 1, 2, 3 or 4, depending on who it is.
"I'm a super passionate individual. I'm going to wear my heart on my sleeve and go to war for the city night-in and night-out," he continued. "I know the city loves their sports and I can't wait to add to the tradition, the history and the legacy that Boston has, and get back to the 2008 days, the Larry Bird days and the Bill Russell days."
