Jaylen Brown taking leadership role seriously
Jaylen Brown taking on a leadership role with younger players, especially rookie teammate Jayson Tatum. https://t.co/OLCvYaU12i— Chris Forsberg (@ESPNForsberg) July 10, 2017
The man means business, even off the court, as often as he and Jayson Tatum get buckets (which is to say 24/7 for the uninitiated). The second-year Boston Celtic, who notably took to negotiating his rookie deal with the help of advisors supplied by an NBA Players Association he hopes to one day lead, has been vocal in his leadership of the Celts' Summer League team, and took things a step further by hosting an event for underage players at the Las Vegas Summer League.
Jaylen Brown is hosting “welcome to NBA” party for Summer Leaguers under 21 https://t.co/NoBCYQEWzN— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) July 10, 2017
The event, paid for out of pocket by Brown, was created with the intention of creating a place for the many rookies and young talent attending the event still too young to enter many of the locations in a city renowned for its reputation as a booze-centered playground for the 21-and-up crowd. Said Brown (per the Undefeated's Marc Spears):
"There are a lot of young guys here, and there is nothing to do in Vegas if you’re under 21 ... I just want to do something. Hang out, talk to them. Build relationships. I’m not 21. Jayson [Tatum] is not 20. A lot of the draft picks are young ... I’m going to let them bring whoever they want. Food is on me. Everything."
This is exactly what you want to see from a player clearly being regarded as a potential cornerstone of a rebuild, and in the league in general. A man of many interests, it certainly doesn't hurt his (or Boston's) outlook to have such a perspective so early.
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