Brown’s potential seems sky high
Jimmy Butler is well aware the Celtics have been after him for the better part of the last two seasons. He knows the Bulls are trying to decide how to execute their rebuild, and it’s clear he’s their biggest asset.
But those decisions are made by others, so Butler was more concerned with the team whose name was on his T-shirt as he sat in the visitors’ dressing room following Chicago’s 100-80 surrender to the Celts yesterday afternoon.
“I’m not there,” Butler said after shooting 2-for-11 and posting just five points, 18.4 fewer than his average, in 31 minutes. “I’m here, and I’ve got to worry about this organization. I’ve got to try to control what’s going on over here.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me. I don’t think anybody does. But until anything changes, I’ve got to play the best basketball I can play here.”
As for the Celtics’ repeated attempts to deal for him, Butler said, “It’s always good to feel wanted. You know, I’ll leave it at that.”
There are some around the NBA, however, who believe the Celtics may already have a 6-foot7 star — if they are willing to be patient. (And, get this, Butler is a part of that chorus.)
In the 10 games since the AllStar break, Jaylen Brown is averaging 11.5 points on 54.4 percent shooting (46.7 percent on 3-pointers) in a little more than 24 minutes a game. Certainly it’s important to see where Brown is now, but even greater in the grand Shamrock scheme is what the 20-year-old rookie can be next season and beyond.
To this, Brown states a belief that he can eventually provide even more than Butler.
“I have high expectations for myself, but it doesn’t have a limit,” said Brown after posting 11 points and three rebounds in 25 minutes yesterday. “I’m not saying that Jimmy Butler’s my limit. I think I can be better one day. I have all respect for him, and he’ll probably tell me he wants me to try to be better than him, too. So I’ve just got to keep working, and everything will fall into place.”
Brown has a pretty good line on Butler’s thinking. The two share a trainer and worked out together last summer.
“Yeah, that’s what I want for him,” Butler said. “I want the kid to be the greatest, because that’s what he wants. As long as he’s pushing himself each and every day, there is no ceiling for him. Nobody can put a ceiling on anybody. You’ve just got to want to be better.
“You’ve got to want to be great, and I can tell from hanging around him this past summer that that’s what he wants. He loves to compete against the best. As long as he keeps that edge and that confidence, man, you can’t put a ceiling on that.”
Butler went on about the kid seven years his junior.
“I like him,” he said. “He plays hard, he plays within himself, and he’s super confident. He’s going to be around this league for a while. He works, man, and that’s all you can ask. As long as he continues to want to get better, he’s going to do just that.
“I’m happy for him. He’s playing at a high level right now, and he’s a big key to what they’re trying to do over there. I just don’t want him to ever settle, as I always tell him. You’re never going to be perfect in any aspect of the game, so don’t think just because you get to the top that somebody ain’t chasing your spot. He knows that somebody is.”
Some scouts are likening Brown’s game more to a — take a deep breath, Greenhearts — Kawhi Leonard. But the rook is looking in more than one direction for ideas and inspiration.
“I like to take bits and pieces from a lot of people’s games,” Brown said. “It’s tough to say just one person that I think plays like me or plays how I want to play in the future. I can’t really put a name to that, but I like a lot of guys. I like Jimmy. Jimmy is a mentor of mine. I like his game. I like Kawhi. I like (Russell) Westbrook. I like Kyrie (Irving). I like what they do with the ball. I try to pull bits and pieces from everybody’s game.”
When all is said and done, however, Jaylen Brown is going to have to be Jaylen Brown. The guy who hit 3-of-6 treys and was all over the floor on defense is a fairly good start — even with the three turnovers.
The feeling here is that he’ll be significantly better after a summer to further sort things out.
“I’m going to just do what I can do,” Brown said. “I’m going to work hard and come back strong. I’m not going to put any expectations on myself.”
With the way he’s played of late, others are beginning to take care of that for him.