Celtics majority owner Wyc Grousbeck wasn’t used to getting booed. But just over eight years after Boston won its 17th title, he stood inside TD Garden and delivered news to an impatient and hungry fanbase that didn’t approve of what he had to say.
“There has not been a trade,” Grousbeck said, standing before an acrylic lectern that had “2016 Draft Party” written on the front in green and white letters. “This guy is our guy. He’s our guy for the future.” Instead of fast-tracking their path back to title contention by dealing the No. 3 pick for an established star (some in the crowd tried to drown Grousbeck out by yelling Jimmy Butler’s name), the Celtics wagered on Jaylen Brown, a 19-year-old forward from Cal who wasn’t likely to contribute right away.
Brown remembers watching Grousbeck’s press conference in disbelief, as if it happened yesterday. “[Wyc] had to defend, like, ‘This is who we’re going with. You guys just gonna have to live with it.’ And I was like, ‘This is crazy.’ These guys have never seen me play before or, you know, I haven’t even got the opportunity,” Brown says during an off-day interview at the Finals. “It’s kind of trended like that my whole career. People in Boston that thought I was a bust, ever since have been kind of waiting to prove themselves right, in a sense, because that’s what humans do. But I’m not a bust. I keep getting better every year.”
