Draymond Green thinks Jaylen Brown should be an All-Star replacement for John Wall
That’s high praise from the Warriors forward.
Draymond Green has never been afraid to voice his opinions, even if they’re unpopular or few people will agree with them. He did the same thing today when asked who he thought the All-Star replacement player for John Wall should be.
The Wizards announced Wall would be out for the next 6-8 weeks after undergoing knee surgery, which means he’ll miss the All-Star Game and will need to be replaced. In all likelihood, it’ll be Andre Drummond, Ben Simmons, or Kemba Walker who replaces Wall on the team. But Green has his own suggestion for a replacement.
Draymond Green tells ESPN he believes Boston guard Jaylen Brown should be an All-Star. With John Wall out, Adam Silver must select injury replacement.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) January 30, 2018
We can safely assume that this won’t happen. He didn’t even place in initial All-Star voting for the Eastern Conference.
He may have fared better in the coaches’ vote, but he’s still likely behind Simmons, Drummond, Walker, and Goran Dragic. It’s a long shot, at best. But Green may have a point here — maybe we should consider Brown.
He might be the best defender on the second-best team in the league
We don’t often consider what players do defensively when we talk about All-Star candidacy, but Brown has been excellent. He’s been the linchpin of the Celtics’ perimeter defense. He’s willing to switch on anyone and can guard both guard and forward positions.
He’s got a 99.3 defensive rating, which is fifth-best on the team with at least 30 games played. He also holds opponents to just 38 percent shooting when he’s defending them. Without him, their defense just isn’t as strong.
Brown guards the best perimeter players every night while shooting a 37.5 percent clip from deep. Plenty of players try to do that well, but not many are able to do it.
The Celtics are probably good enough for three All-Stars
Brown making the team in our hypothetical scenario would be more of a team accomplishment as opposed to one based on his talents. He’s a very good player and plays great in his role, but he wouldn’t be the prototypical All-Star.
And, honestly, that’s just fine! The Celtics probably deserve that. They’ve played head- and-shoulders better than every other team in the conference and should probably get a bit more recognition for doing so. This won’t happen, but seeing that come in the form of Brown as an All-Star would be nice.
At the end of the day, though, it’s up to the commissioner to pick who Wall’s replacement will be. Brown won’t cross his mind, but he probably should.