Grant Hill: Contrary to popular belief, I do like Jaylen Brown; I love his game

[ASFN Admin]

Grant Hill: 'Contrary to popular belief, I do like Jaylen Brown. I love his game, and things got difficult there with that team. In putting the team together, just to give some context, we had Kawhi Leonard on that penciled in on that team, and he got hurt at the end of that season in 2024. He came to camp, he wasn't right, and so we had to pivot. A couple of things happened at that camp, and people want to believe what they want to believe, but at the end of the day, Kevin Durant showed up, he was hurt. He had a grade one calf strain, and I think we all have PTSD from the last time he had a calf strain, so we were very patient with him. Jayson Tatum had just had a baby, so he showed up late. Joel Embiid was, you know, we knew we were managing him, but we needed him for Nikola Jokic against Serbia, because that was the matchup. We didn't have our full roster, and then we started looking around and saying, oh man, like Jrue Holiday was so important for us in the FIBA game. A point guard who can play his role, ball pressure, the whole nine. If Jrue got hurt, our point guards were Jrue Holiday and Stephen Curry, and defense wasn't necessarily their strong point. It was like, okay, let's bring in insurance for Jrue Holiday and like Derrick White. So that was the thought process.'

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More on Jaylen Brown: Recent HoopsHype Rumors​

John Karalis: Celtics release their preseason schedule. It includes two games against the 76ers, which Brad Stevens alluded to a couple weeks ago. IMGhttps://bsky.app/profile/johnkaralis.com/post/3mr3kvrptfc2w — 7/20/2026 Bluesky

NBA Courtside: Grant Hill on Jaylen Brown not being on the USA team: “When I announced then team, there were certain guys that I called before Woj and Shams broke it. And I called like Lillard, I called Jimmy Butler, I tried to call everybody because you never know when they’re going to break it. And you want to give guys the respect to hear it from me. I called Jaylen. We had a great conversation. Unbelievable conversation. And so something got lost there. And the implication that like a shoe company like to me that, look you guys can criticize my leadership. You can criticize the ability to put together a roster. When you’re in a role that I’m in, you open yourself up to criticism and I accept that. But to imply that like a shoe company told me what to do. Now you questioning my character, and that was the things that was weird.” (Via @RoadTrippinShow) — 7/20/2026 x.com

The source also confirmed that Harris – along with Sixers players Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown – have all let James know that they would love to have him join the team and that the city of Philadelphia would welcome him with open arms. — 7/19/2026 NBC Philadelphia

John Clark: A source says Sixers owner Josh Harris was able to have a brief, friendly conversation with LeBron James yesterday at a VIP event at Fanatics Fest in New York I’m told Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, and owner Josh Harris have let LeBron know they would love to have him join the team and the city of Philly would welcome him to the Sixers with open arms The Sixers are reportedly one of the final teams in the running for LeBron — 7/18/2026 x.com

If he goes to Miami or Philly, what do you make of the dynamic and fit with each team? Chalmers: “With Philly, I see him fitting perfectly with Jaylen Brown, [Tyrese] Maxey, and [Joel] Embiid. You have a ‘Big 4’ there. ‘Bron can play in that 3 or 4 position and also take Maxey off the ball. That will help him grow and become a better scorer, better player, and better playmaker. With Miami, I see LeBron being a starting point guard with Bam and Giannis right there on the side. They just got to get a couple of more shooters. They did a good job of getting Tim [Hardaway Jr]. Bobby Portis was a good pickup. So I feel like Philly is a win-win right now. I think Miami is a win, if you add a couple of more pieces. Then everything else follows. You got to add more pieces to Golden State. You got to add more pieces to Cleveland. I feel like Philly has everything. Miami is the second-best choice.” — 7/17/2026 Fade Away World

Jaylen Brown: "For me, the person that I would say I admire most would be my grandmother. My grandmother, she passed away three years ago, but she was the one that taught me the importance of education and the importance of school, and I carry the things that she taught me with me in life today. So, I think it's important to give appreciation to your parents, your grandparents, your ancestors, the people that came before, always show them respect." — 7/16/2026 YouTube

Jaylen Brown: "If basketball were to end today, it's tough for me to say, but if I had to choose anything, I probably would be a teacher at a university. I love to teach, I love working with students such as yourself. I work with students at MIT and all over back in Boston. I love to teach and build curriculums and just pour into the next generation." — 7/16/2026 YouTube

Tatum recently made an appearance at ESPN's ESPY Awards on Wednesday. He was asked about how he feels about Brown getting traded and how he sees his future with his former duo no longer by his side. "To be transparent, it's weird," Tatum said. "I've been on the Celtics for nine years, and he was my teammate. You understand throughout the course of your career that the NBA is a business, and people change teams ... but it doesn't make it any easier... But there's also a side of, like, you have to welcome our new teammates." — 7/16/2026 basketballnews.com

Heat Central: “Heat, complete contender the moment he gets there. The Warriors would need a little work still. The big thing with the Warriors was packaging LeBron James with another star player…. There’s been no real traction on the Warriors and AD… They are to my knowledge behind other teams such as a Miami, CLE, PHI.” Shams also mentioned the Sixers didn’t even get on his list until they got Jaylen Brown. — 7/16/2026 x.com

NBA on ESPN: "I'm hearing that in a lot of ways Jaylen [Brown] probably felt like Jayson [Tatum] was the favorite." @MarcJSpears on the Celtics' decision to part ways with Jaylen Brown ? — 7/16/2026 x.com

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Grant Hill: Contrary to popular belief, I do like Jaylen Brown; I love his game

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