Celtics’ Jaylen Brown’s drops potential hint at interest in Hawks

After the Atlanta Hawks bowed out in six games to the Boston Celtics last month in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs, most reasonable Hawks fans were mildly encouraged but still well aware of this roster’s foundational flaws, most notably centered around a lack of perimeter defense and outside shot making.

One player who fits that bill happened to play for the Celtics: shooting guard Jaylen Brown, who is an Atlanta native, having grown into one of the best high school players in America at Wheeler High School in Marietta a decade ago.

In his seven NBA seasons, Brown has established himself as one of the 15-20 or so best players in the league, flaunting a unique combination of size, strength, athleticism, and shooting prowess that helps him overcome his shortcomings, which include most notably a shaky handle on the basketball, a flaw that the Golden State Warriors took full advantage of last summer.

But it makes sense that Hawks fans, after seeing up close and personal both how incomplete the roster was and how talented Brown is (he was arguably the most consistent player in the series for either team) would want the team to look into ways that the Atlanta native could be brought back home, whether through trade or via free agency. Brown’s frequent media remarks that subtly hinted at possible discontent with both his team’s utilization of his talent as well as with the city of Boston itself certainly didn’t dim Hawks fans’ rosy eyes.

A slight wrench was thrown into those plans two weeks ago when Brown was named as a member of the All-NBA second team, meaning that he is now eligible to sign a supermax contract extension that only the Celtics will be able to offer him next summer.

It’s true that 295 million dollars often can help smooth over any minor frustrations that a player might have with his current organization or city. But recently, hope for Hawks fans was reignited when it was unearthed that Brown had followed Hawks all-star point guard Trae Young on social media.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Players follow other players on social media all the time, and tracking every single Instagram interaction between multi-millionaire athletes can lead one to a maze that has no end. So yes, obviously, this development should be taken with a sizable grain of salt.

But in the NBA specifically, players’ following and unfollowing of various accounts have actually been a somewhat reputable barometer of what’s to come. Earlier this year, D’Angelo Russell unfollowed his then-team, the Minnesota Timberwolves, on Instagram. One month later, he was a Los Angeles Laker.

In 2020, after the Milwaukee Bucks’ second-round exit in the bubble, Giannis Antentokounpo unfollowed several of his teammates on Instagram. That offseason, Milwaukee reconstructed the roster, trading away several familiar faces and bringing in foundational pieces Jrue Holiday and Bobby Portis.

Hawks fans have also been quick to point out the prolonged conversation that Brown and Young appeared to have on the court after Atlanta’s game 6 elimination, speculating that they may have been discussing future plans to team up.

Jaylen Brown’s social media activity could mean nothing for Atlanta Hawks

But consider this: Brown is a smart player and an equally smart person. He is well aware of just how speculative NBA fans and the sports media as a whole can be, especially in the current digital media age.

When he says something critical about his team or fanbase in a postgame press conference, he isn’t just revealing his feelings for the sole purpose of getting them off his chest, he’s dropping hints, because he’s experienced enough to know how they will be received.

And when he follows the star player of the team that he’s been most frequently tied to in trade rumors, he is wise enough to understand that people will notice and it will be talked about, because that’s the age we live in, for better or for worse.

So yes, Brown following Young on Instagram might not be a huge deal, especially as Brown and his Celtics are in the middle of a conference finals series as we speak.

But make no mistake: it’s not nothing.