Jaylen Brown being brought back in for a 2nd workout; Is he Ainge's guy at #3?


A. Sherrod Blakely, CSNNE:
Brown has reportedly lined up a second workout with the Celtics.

Brown was supposed to be working out for the Timberwolves leading up to the draft, but according to Wolfson, that is now “up in the air.”

Austin Ainge, Boston’s director of player personnel, did not speak specifically about any particular player coming back to Boston for a second workout.

But he acknowledged that when they do bring players back for a second look, there’s a variety of reasons behind those decisions.

“Marcus, it was more like he was the guy we kind of wanted to take [with the No. 6 pick],” Ainge said. “And we all liked him a lot. And he was horrible in his workout. We went back and watched film and said, ‘Let’s give him another chance.’”

When you look back at last year’s draft, the Celtics wound up selecting four players. Of those four, at least two (Terry Rozier and Jordan Mickey) worked out for the Celtics twice.

A lot can change in 5 days, but right now Jaylen Brown is looking like the favorite to be picked by the Celtics at #3. While Danny Ainge would like to trade the pick for an established young star, that's a lot easier said than done. The only star even somewhat available right now is Jimmy Butler and the Bulls asking price is a lot higher than most Celtics fans would feel comfortable with.

I've liked Brown throughout this whole process. Will he be a better pro than Murray, Dunn or Chriss? That's where Ainge gets paid the big bucks to make the right call. Brown is the player at the top of this draft that most compares to Justice Winslow, who Ainge reportedly would have drafted as high as #4 last year if anyone would have dealt with him, so it's not surprising that with 5 days to go he's Boston's favorite right now.

I think the biggest knock on Brown is that he can't shoot from the outside, which is a necessity in today's NBA. Reportedly his shot has improved leading up to the draft. No one's expecting him to shoot like Hield or Murray, but if he comes in this week and shows a decent stroke, he'll be the Celtics pick. You can teach a player to shoot. You can't teach a player to be more athletic or have a longer wingspan. Judging by Ainge's past drafting history, his interest in Brown shouldn't be surprising.

Related: Video: Amanda Pflugrad talks to Cal coach Cuonzo Martin about potential No. 3 pick Jalyen Brown