Robb: Celtics Rookie Jaylen Brown Already Earning Brad Stevens' Trust
By Brian Robb, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- In his brief tenure as Celtics head coach, Brad Stevens has not had a reputation for giving rookies an opportunity at playing time just for the sake of helping them build some experience.
First-round picks such as James Young, Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter spent much of their rookie years on the bench, waiting to earn the trust of Stevens with their performances in practices and training camp.
The question surrounding 20-year-old Jaylen Brown in training camp this year was just how soon he would be able to contribute to a 48-win team playoff team right out of the gate. While it's important for the No. 3 overall pick to develop for the team's future, Stevens would not commit to Brown on that front as recently as a few weeks ago.
"I understand that development from an outside perspective is judged based on minutes in games because that's what everybody sees," Stevens explained. "Development is based on, to us, how much you're growing day to day in everything you do. So I don't consider that to be a huge part of somebody's development if they're ignoring the other stuff that really matters, and getting really good. You have to earn your time. You have to bring something to the table that adds value to winning, and there are a lot of guys competing for that."
Aided by injuries to Marcus Smart and Kelly Olynyk, it has not taken long for Brown to prove to Stevens he is capable contributor on that front just two games into his NBA career.
After being the first man off the bench for Boston on Wednesday night against the Brooklyn Nets, Brown saw crunch time minutes in Thursday's 101-95 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
"I thought he was playing pretty well and I thought we were better off going small," Stevens told reporters in Chicago. "And when we go small, small, with Terry, Isaiah and Avery that's really small. So I wanted to keep Jaylen in there. Ultimately I thought he did a lot of good things tonight. Obviously that play didn't go his way."
Brown finished with eight points on 4-of-7 shooting, but his performance during crunch time left a little to be desired as he committed an ugly traveling turnover upon being caught in the air without a shot or pass option.
"I was looking for an outlet," Brown explained after the game. "I should have just shot the ball, but I was thinking it was a bad shot. I probably should have just shot it. But it was an open shot, and we probably could have gotten something better toward the end of the game. I just saw [Nikola] Mirotic on me. He has slower feet and Coach told me to drive him, so I was trying to be aggressive. I should have made him pay."
While the blunder was crucial in a two-point game with just under two minutes remaining, it doesn't wipe away the positive play that Brown showed in his 20 minutes. He finished a couple baskets at the rim over taller defenders and sank a pull-up jumper from the lane, giving him an efficient offensive night overall.
On a team that's seeing inconsistent results from the second unit during the first week of the year, giving Brown some early reps with the starters could come in handy for the long haul. He's got a long way to go, particularly with his outside shot, but the fact he's already got the trust of the coaching staff speaks volume.
Stevens is not easy on his rookies, but Brown looks like one who will be up to the challenge.
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.
