There’s a lot on his mind
Brown has an opinion or two
LOS ANGELES — By definition of the game for first- and second-year players, last night was the last time Jaylen Brown can be a “Rising” Star in the NBA’s All-Star weekend.
But the 21-year-old Celtic is utterly determined to remain ascendant as a human being. He is dogged in his drive to improve as a player, a fact evident by his appearance here after being left out of the game a year ago. But it’s clear from the way he speaks long and eloquently about social matters that he ain’t just dribbling all day.
Brown struck back hard on the notion that players should play and keep their opinions zipped in designer brand duffel bags.
“Who’s to say because you’re a basketball player that you can’t chime in on other subjects, other important topics of the day?” Brown said yesterday. “I’ve always disagreed with that (stay quiet directive), and I’ll disagree with that until the day I die.”
The 6-foot-7 wing isn’t just here to play the game and smile for the international media cameras. He’s meeting with retired legends to pick their brains, and Brown, who once interned at a venture-capital firm, is leading an event today where young players gather with such investors to get educated on what to look for when putting their money on the line.
But just when you think Jaylen Brown is spreading himself too thin and looking like the “too smart” guy who won’t pay enough attention to the game, as NBA scouts so charged him as he entered the draft, he takes the conversation to the rim and dunks hard.
“Yeah, I mean, I can hoop,” he said. “I can play, and I’m only going to get better. In my opinion, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. So everything else is patience, but I’m completely devoted and focused on basketball. You have so much time in the day; everybody chooses to spend their 24 hours different. And I just choose to take advantage of every second I’ve got in mine, so not only am I going to continue to get better on the basketball floor, and you’re going to see that, but I’m also going to continue to do stuff off the floor that I’m passionate about.
“I feel like, as an athlete, that if you’re educated on a topic and you believe something, you should be able to say it. Certain things are touchy, but in my opinion, that’s what we’re here for. Everybody has their cameras here. Everybody wants to hear what we’ve got to say, so I feel obligated to enlighten people on the things that I’ve learned in my research.”
As for how he chooses his topics, Brown said, “The ones you know about. It’s as simple as that. You know, not talking about something you have no idea what you’re talking about. If you’re informed in a situation and your perspective can be beneficial, say what’s on your mind. I don’t believe in holding your tongue, especially if it’s something that you can directly benefit from or something people need to hear, especially young people that are watching and looking up to you.”
So it’s really a matter of math.
“Yeah,” he said. “To be honest, yeah, I look at it in that sense. You’ve got 24 hours. You’ve got seven days a week and 365 days in a year. Everybody gets the same amount of time, everybody gets the same amount of days, but I guess time is relative, you know, how people use it. On different places on the planet, time is faster. A day on Pluto is a year on Earth, or something like that. I could be wrong. I can do the research and find out. I might be accurate.
“But time is very relative and it’s different for everybody. How you choose to use it is up to you.”
For the record, Brown did not graduate from the conversation summa cum laude. A day on Pluto is equal to 6.4 days in LA. But he has made his point that athletes shouldn’t be defined narrowly.
“That’s just a narrative that, I don’t know who’s painting it, but it’s just been there for a long time, and I think it’s time to move on from it,’ Brown said. “It’s time to move to a new generation where not only can you have a job and do your job well, but also have other interests outside of that and have that be OK. You don’t get backlash from it.”
As for the pre-draft criticism, he said, “I challenge whoever has the idea or ideology of a ‘so-called basketball player.’ I challenge them to come out and say what that is.”
There can be no challenge to Brown’s progression from last year to this.
“The step from last year was just being prepared, having more opportunity this year than I had last year,” he said. “Last year I came into a different situation where I had to work to get on the floor. It actually benefited me because last year was just all preparation to get ready for this opportunity that Danny (Ainge) presented to me this year.”
And how does he take the next step?
“Everything,” said Brown. “Consistency, everything. Body, just getting my body more adjusted to the league, defending at a high level, scoring at a high level, being a true two-way player, things like that. I’m going to just continue to get better. I’m getting more athletic, I’m getting stronger, I’m getting faster, I’m getting more explosive, I’m going to shoot the ball better, I’m going to handle the ball better. It’s all going to come in time, and I know that. It’s a process. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so I’m going to take my time and just be patient and let the game come to me.”
That last part may be a bit of a lie. While Brown is bright enough to know his best days lay ahead, his mind is already three moves past that, wondering why he can’t have it now.