BearGoggles said:
Big C said:
CalLifer said:
Big C said:
Jaylen Brown is a great player, but definitely still has some flaws in his game (kinda the same ones he had at Cal). I hope he is able to iron out the flaws to some extent, over the next few years, as I am a fan of his. Not sure I would want to be paying him "super max" money, if I were an NBA GM.
Jaylen Brown was named 2nd-team ALL-NBA (one of the FOUR BEST forwards in the NBA) this season, his team has made at least the conference finals 5 out of his seven years in the NBA, and he was probably the best celtics player in the finals when they did make it.
I'm just amazed at the need to qualify any praise for what might be the most accomplished Cal alum NBA player since Jason Kidd. While Brown might have flaws to his game, to crap on him or constantly highlight his supposed flaws instead of delighting in the fact that we have a bona-fide NBA star who went to Cal seems so incredibly myopic.
Geez, I thought I was largely singing his praises, especially relatively speaking. I love the guy. Okay, he's perfect. His game defies criticism. Is that better? Tough crowd today.
I don't think the comment was entirely directed at you.
Not only do some people come here to crap on him, they seem to delight in his failures. Which is sad and strange, since he is a prominent alum who has done nothing but represent Cal positively.
Yes, Big C's post was more measured than the other ones I had in mind, but it was the most recent one, so that's what I responded to. And I really have no issue with reasoned critiques of his game; there are things he could improve on, but that's true for all but a handful of NBA players. But he has worked incredibly hard to transform his game from where it was when he left Cal, and Im sure he will continue to work to improve.
What bugs me more than anything though are those who don't appreciate how amazing that 2015-2016 season at Cal was, and blame him for the Hawaii loss without acknowledging any of the context (losing Wallace and Bird in the two days before the game, Cal announcing the investigation into Cuonzo also right before when Cuonzo followed established protocol). Brown was an integral part of the team that earned a 4-seed overall in the tournament (Cal's highest ever in the modern 64+ team tourney), went undefeated at home for the first time, and provided incredible excitement. He also was Pac-12 freshman of the year. Was he perfect? No. But to keep harping on the flaws at the expense of successes both here at Cal and in his NBA career feels like those detractors have other agendas.
And I don't want to get into the whole other discussion about the supermax and players' worthiness, since that whole discussion exists because of salary limits and the fact that the mega-superstars' salaries are artificially capped.
