Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck on trade talks: ‘Nothing even came close’

WEEI

By John Tomase


Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck, fresh off a surprise booing from Celtics fans disappointed in the selection of Jaylen Brown with the third overall pick, said the C’s never came close to trading the pick for a veteran.

“Adding a veteran was certainly a consideration as we went into this draft day,” Grousbeck said. “Adding a veteran for the third pick was a consideration. We were willing to have those discussions, just nothing even came close. If it had come close and we hadn’t quite gotten there, I’d tell you that. It just wasn’t even close. It’s actually an easy day when nothing’s close. I don’t look for easy days — you try to make the right decisions — but this was an easy day.”

According to reports, the Celtics engaged in trade talks with the Sixers (Nerlens Noel), Bulls (Jimmy Butler), and Bucks (Khris Middleton), but according to Grousbeck, those talks never progressed.

That led to the selection of Brown. Grousbeck joked that as a Stanford grad, he’ll have to accept that Brown played for a year at Cal. He also said he was extremely impressed with Brown’s workout.

“Jaylen, since the day he walked in for his very impressive workout — impressive even to me, as more of a fan — he was very high on the list,” Grousbeck said. “He was going to be a finalist for this draft pick since the day he walked in and worked out.”

That said, fans still reacted with hostility, showering Grousbeck with boos over the selection.

“Fourteen years, that’s probably the worst one I’ve gotten, but I’ll view this as people really care,” Grousbeck said. “I’ll view it as I’ve certainly had some of those reactions when I’ve been at sporting events. You pay your money, you get to come in. Look, we’re a bunch of fans who bought this team. Being a fan means you’re emotional and emotionally invested in the team and no problem. But I actually believe if those fans knew what I knew and were in that room, most of them might have done the same thing. But no problem. Bring it on. They’re Celtics fans, and they’ve earned the right to say whatever they want.”

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Yeah, clearly the fans wanted a deal for an established player or someone else at #3.  I think Brown will be OK, and some of the boo birds will be happier. He will most likely at least earn minutes and add depth quickly.  He should give us more scoring; perhaps our biggest need, although a perimeter shooting threat is still needed.

Wyc's statements seem to bear out what most of us thought; all the deal rumors were unfounded.  I think the various 76ers deals being floated were especially laughable, exceeded only by the Butler stories.

Brown is a good gamble over the longer term, but Noel and Covington would probably have helped more next season. If Brown can make a contribution this season over what Rozier, Mickey and Hunter were able to do last season, I can wait for him to make a bigger contribution in the future.