The Boston Celtics were the most mentioned team in trade rumors leading up to Thursday’s NBA Draft, but all of the discussions didn't result in a trade. The Celtics held onto the selection and took Cal’s Jaylen Brown, who they worked out twice.
“I had no idea. I promise you, I had no idea,” Brown said when asked if he knew the Celtics would take him. “I was actually sweating bullets when the final five seconds came in. But I knew they were heavily interested when they asked me to come back for a second workout, but you hear different things every day. I mean, it changes every day, so I was not sure at all. I’m glad to be here, I think it’s the right fit.”
While meeting with the media on Wednesday, Brown expressed a desire to involve himself in the culture of his new city — specifically mentioning Boston and New Orleans (who had the sixth pick) as interesting possibilities.
“I know Boston has a lot of history, a lot of tradition, and I want to add to that,” Brown said. “I know it’s a playoff team, so I love playoff basketball, and I can’t wait to win. Boston is a great city full of culture, full of life, education, things that mean a lot to me. I’m super excited. I cannot wait to get there and can’t wait to get everything started, can’t wait for the season to start, and I’m happy to be a part of the family.”
Brown left Cal after just one season, but has been adamant about his interest in learning.
“It took me a while to make a decision [on leaving early] because education is very important to me,” he admitted, “but this was the right thing for me to do, and Boston has a great history of education and some great universities like Harvard, MIT. I’ve done my research."
