After signing his extension on Wednesday, Jaylen Brown reflected on the changes the Celtics have undergone since losing in the conference finals, writes Brian Robb of MassLive. The most significant move was sending Marcus Smart to Memphis in a three-team trade to acquire Kristaps Porzingis. Brown said that even though he and Smart clashed frequently over the years, things won’t be the same without his “brother” and one of his best friends on the team.
“Marcus has been somebody that’s, like, we butted heads at times, we fought, we did it all, we put each other in headlocks, etc.,” Brown said. “The journey won’t feel the same without him to be honest. But it’s a part of life, it’s a part of what you do going forward and everything he’s instilled into this organization, everything he’s instilled into this community is still going to be with us, still carried with us. So we’re going to wish him well on his new journey. Obviously the city of Boston is going to feel the loss of his impact when he’s no longer here, but we’ll be able to keep moving forward.”
Brown indicated that he understands why the deal was made and he sees the benefit of having a versatile big man like Porzingis. However, he wants to make sure the Celtics don’t lose the intensity and commitment to defense that Smart inspired.
“I think what Kristaps can bring to us defensively and the additions some of our other guys can bring to us defensively,” Brown said. “… With Marcus gone, we don’t want our defensive identity to go out the door as well, so we have to really emphasize that at the start of training camp.”
There’s more from Boston:
- Brown wasn’t upset that it took more than three weeks to work out his extension, Robb adds in a separate story. Some of that delay was due to an overseas trip that Brown took as part of his duties as an NBPA vice president, but much of the time was needed to reach an agreement on non-monetary details. “I thought from my standpoint, they understood where I came from, I understood where he came from,” Brown said. “It was all about being in the place where it made sense for everybody and I was glad that we were able to finish it, get everything done and be able to have the community here.”
- The Celtics are going through a “healing process” and a “listening process” with Malcolm Brogdon, coach Joe Mazzulla told Souichi Terada of MassLive. It appeared Brogdon was going to be moved in an early version of the Porzingis trade, but that changed when the Clippers pulled out because they didn’t have time to review Brogdon’s medical records before Porzingis picked up his option.
- Mazzulla confirmed that Derrick White will replace Smart as the starting point guard, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.