Jaylen Brown Injury: Updates on Celtics Forward's Knee and Return
The third overall pick of the 2016 NBA draft, Jaylen Brown, suffered a bone bruise on July 4, per A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com. It's unclear when he'll return to the court.
Continue for updates.
Brown Out vs. Spurs
Thursday, July 7
Brown was not available for the Celtics' NBA Summer League clash with the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday, per Blakely.
Brown Eager to Prove Skills
The 19-year-old scored 16 points and added six rebounds, two assists and two blocks in his summer-league debut, against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night, leading the Celtics to a 102-94 victory.
While he started slowly in his highly publicized matchup against this year's No. 1 overall pick, Ben Simmons, Brown soon settled into a groove.
"He was pressing just a little bit," Celtics assistant coach Micah Shrewsberry said, per Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe. "He wants to play so well. He's a guy that wants to please and do so well. This was a hyped-up matchup."
Once Brown got going, however, his upside was on display.
"Jaylen can do some things and he can fly a little bit," Shrewsberry noted.
The Celtics will be hoping he can soar. After myriad rumors suggested the Celtics were trying to package the No. 3 pick in a trade to bring back veteran help, the team kept the selection and took Brown. That was a bit of a surprise, as many draft projections had Kris Dunn, Jamal Murray and Dragan Bender graded higher, though Brown showed off his ability Monday night.
At California, the small forward averaged 14.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, showing off elite athleticism and the room to grow into a better defender, shooter and passer. His potential is off the charts, though he occasionally looked like a player struggling to figure things out when he was with the Golden Bears.
On Monday night, however, he looked capable of connecting the dots at the NBA level.
Thus, keeping him healthy will be a major priority for the Celtics. While the team has a solid foundation in place—especially after coming to an agreement with Al Horford, per ESPN.com's Chris Forsberg—getting production from its top selection could give Boston a nice jolt this season as it looks to return to the playoffs.
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