Thinking out loud - does Gordon for Brown makes sense for both Boston + Orlando?

[LarBrd33]

It's fine to say Gordon isn't a great shooter.  I'd agree with that.  He's not a great shooter.  But you're quoting Gordon's shooting percentages (48% from the field last season and 30% from three), at least point out that Jaylen Brown is coming into this league with a reputation as a terrible shooter.  (College: 43% from the field with 29% from three).  He just backed up that criticism by shooting 32% from the field and 22% from three against a competition level that Aaron Gordon straight-up dominated (Gordon had arguably the best Summer League of the past decade).    If you're expecting Brown to miraculously shoot better as an NBA rookie than he did in College or Summer League, fine... but all signs point to him being worse than Gordon right now.

Go ahead and share more stats about how poor a shooter Aaron Gordon is.  Alls I'm saying is, those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones... unless you're Jaylen Brown... in which case, throw all the stones you want, you ain't hitting anything.

[Eddie20]

I guess Gordon can be called a "position less player", but it's only because he's too small and a poor rebounder at the 4 and a non-shooter at the 3. So it's the dilemma of what do you do with him?

Gordon shot the following, which makes him playing the SF, especially alongside a non-shooter like Payton, a spacing nightmare.

3-10 ft  34%
10-16 ft  34%
16-23 ft  33%
3pt  29%

Neat.  Let's see if Jaylen can even shoot 30% before we start pretending he's anywhere near as good as Gordon right now.  He put up worst shooting percentages than that in the children's league.  It's not looking good.

Long term, who knows.  Right now, I'm not sure how anyone could realistically argue that Brown is better than GOrdon at anything.

I don't believe it. This is so unlike you. You're burying a Celtic, while overrating a player on a lottery team. I'm shocked.

[LarBrd33]

I guess Gordon can be called a "position less player", but it's only because he's too small and a poor rebounder at the 4 and a non-shooter at the 3. So it's the dilemma of what do you do with him?

Gordon shot the following, which makes him playing the SF, especially alongside a non-shooter like Payton, a spacing nightmare.

3-10 ft  34%
10-16 ft  34%
16-23 ft  33%
3pt  29%

Neat.  Let's see if Jaylen can even shoot 30% before we start pretending he's anywhere near as good as Gordon right now.  He put up worst shooting percentages than that in the children's league.  It's not looking good.

Long term, who knows.  Right now, I'm not sure how anyone could realistically argue that Brown is better than GOrdon at anything.

I don't believe it. This is so unlike you. You're burying a Celtic, while overrating a player on a lottery team. I'm shocked.

I'm not overrating Gordon by saying he's better than Jaylen Brown right now.  Jaylen Brown is not very good right now.  There's essentially no evidence to suggest he's on Gordon's level yet.  You might "feel" differently, but it's not based in fact.

I'm also not burying Jaylen.  He's 19.  I have hopes he'll develop into a good player someday.  Nothing I see suggests he's there yet, though.  He just struggled in Summer League.  Unless something miraculous happens between now and the start of the season, he's likely going to struggle off the bench this season as well.

Gordon is also heading into his 3rd year.  Comparing them right now isn't fair. 

[Endless Paradise]

I mean, I know LarBrd has a reputation for being a Celtic pessimist, but I don't see how anyone could logically begin to argue that Jaylen Brown is already a better player than Aaron Gordon.

[jpotter33]

I guess Gordon can be called a "position less player", but it's only because he's too small and a poor rebounder at the 4 and a non-shooter at the 3. So it's the dilemma of what do you do with him?

Gordon shot the following, which makes him playing the SF, especially alongside a non-shooter like Payton, a spacing nightmare.

3-10 ft  34%
10-16 ft  34%
16-23 ft  33%
3pt  29%

Neat.  Let's see if Jaylen can even shoot 30% before we start pretending he's anywhere near as good as Gordon right now.  He put up worst shooting percentages than that in the children's league.  It's not looking good.

Long term, who knows.  Right now, I'm not sure how anyone could realistically argue that Brown is better than GOrdon at anything.

I don't believe it. This is so unlike you. You're burying a Celtic, while overrating a player on a lottery team. I'm shocked.

 

Yeah, I don't understand where LarBrd33 is getting this notion that Gordon has lit it up the last two years to where he is categorically better than Brown. He hasn't really done all that much at all, all while being a tweener and an injury concern. I guess that you can argue that Gordon is a little better prospect right now, but he certainly isn't anywhere near LarBrd33's analysis of him.

[LarBrd33]

I mean, I know LarBrd has a reputation for being a Celtic pessimist, but I don't see how anyone could logically begin to argue that Jaylen Brown is already a better player than Aaron Gordon.

There's nothing.  Zero evidence to support it.  It's complete nonsense.

And I'm not saying Gordon is a superstar.  I'm saying:

- Jaylen just struggled in Summer League.  Shot 32% from the field and 22% from three.  He's got a long way to go.

- A year ago, Gordon dominated summer league.  Comparing them on that level is a no-contest.

- Gordon was considered a better prospect and is heading into his third year.  It's not fair to compare Jaylen to him yet.  5 years from now it might be a different story.

- Gordon hasn't lit the world on fire yet either, but he is expected to start this season and put up decent averages of 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal as a 20 year old starter for his team last year.   I'm not sure how anyone could have watched Jaylen in College/Summer League and come away with expectations that he's going to make a bigger impact as a raw rookie than Gordon did as a 2nd year pro - let alone a 3rd year pro.   It's silly.

[celticsclay]

I mean, I know LarBrd has a reputation for being a Celtic pessimist, but I don't see how anyone could logically begin to argue that Jaylen Brown is already a better player than Aaron Gordon.

There's nothing.  Zero evidence to support it.  It's complete nonsense.

And I'm not saying Gordon is a superstar.  I'm saying:

- Jaylen just struggled in Summer League.  Shot 32% from the field and 22% from three.  He's got a long way to go.

- A year ago, Gordon dominated summer league.  Comparing them on that level is a no-contest.

- Gordon was considered a better prospect and is heading into his third year.  It's not fair to compare Jaylen to him yet.  5 years from now it might be a different story.

- Gordon hasn't lit the world on fire yet either, but he is expected to start this season and put up decent averages of 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal as a 20 year old starter for his team last year.   I'm not sure how anyone could have watched Jaylen in College/Summer League and come away with expectations that he's going to make a bigger impact as a raw rookie than Gordon did as a 2nd year pro - let alone a 3rd year pro.   It's silly.

by who?

[LarBrd33]

I mean, I know LarBrd has a reputation for being a Celtic pessimist, but I don't see how anyone could logically begin to argue that Jaylen Brown is already a better player than Aaron Gordon.

There's nothing.  Zero evidence to support it.  It's complete nonsense.

And I'm not saying Gordon is a superstar.  I'm saying:

- Jaylen just struggled in Summer League.  Shot 32% from the field and 22% from three.  He's got a long way to go.

- A year ago, Gordon dominated summer league.  Comparing them on that level is a no-contest.

- Gordon was considered a better prospect and is heading into his third year.  It's not fair to compare Jaylen to him yet.  5 years from now it might be a different story.

- Gordon hasn't lit the world on fire yet either, but he is expected to start this season and put up decent averages of 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal as a 20 year old starter for his team last year.   I'm not sure how anyone could have watched Jaylen in College/Summer League and come away with expectations that he's going to make a bigger impact as a raw rookie than Gordon did as a 2nd year pro - let alone a 3rd year pro.   It's silly.

by who?

Go tweet at your favorite draft expert to fill you in on how Gordon was perceiving coming into the league vs how Jaylen was seen.  That doesn't really matter one way or the other. 

From what I've seen right now:  Gordon is a better shooter, better finisher, more athletic, has more size, better defender, more explosive, better passer.  I don't see anything really that Jaylen does better than Gordon.   Naturally, people will take that the wrong way and assume I'm saying Gordon is a star. That's not what I'm saying at all.  Gordon isn't that great yet.  Jaylen is worse.   Might be a tough concept for some to get their mind around, but that's all I'm saying.   Terry Rozier isn't very good right now.  If I compare him favorably to Demetrius Jackson, it doesn't mean I'm saying Rozier is a hall of famer.   

 If we're comparing Gordon to Jaylen right now, I don't see anything Jaylen does better.

I hope that changes.  It could.  They are both teenagers.  Anything can happen long-term.

[footey]

It's fine to say Gordon isn't a great shooter.  I'd agree with that.  He's not a great shooter.  But you're quoting Gordon's shooting percentages (48% from the field last season and 30% from three), at least point out that Jaylen Brown is coming into this league with a reputation as a terrible shooter.  (College: 43% from the field with 29% from three).  He just backed up that criticism by shooting 32% from the field and 22% from three against a competition level that Aaron Gordon straight-up dominated (Gordon had arguably the best Summer League of the past decade).    If you're expecting Brown to miraculously shoot better as an NBA rookie than he did in College or Summer League, fine... but all signs point to him being worse than Gordon right now.

Go ahead and share more stats about how poor a shooter Aaron Gordon is.  Alls I'm saying is, those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones... unless you're Jaylen Brown... in which case, throw all the stones you want, you ain't hitting anything.

Actually if you read scouting reports before draft Gordon was considered a bad shooter. Probably worsh than Brown especially factoring in free throw percentage.
You like Gordon better. I get it. I don't, and I like Gordon. Just feel Brown will have unique ability to draw a lot of fouls (proven), learn to finish better (not hard to do), and shoot better (my hope, based on observing his stroke). I think both will be really good pros. Both have high energy, athleticism and work hard with good personalities.

[celticsclay]

I assume that you laid down a case for why Jaylen Brown is better than Aaron Gordon.  That doesn't seem to be the case, but I hope you're right.  I guess we'll have to see how Jaylen plays on the pro level.  My expectations are that he'll average about 6 points on 35% shooting and struggle to make an impact for a few years.

Based on what little we've seen of Jaylen thus far (College and a few summer league games), I don't see any part of his game that is better than Aaron Gordon a year ago.

He has potential.  It's going to take him time. 

Aaron Gordon has made leaps.  Hopefully Jaylen can make similar leaps someday.

it is possible to think both are good, yet one may have an edge in a particular category/area that one of us values more than the other. that's life.

but, let's have some fun. i accept your "challenge" on brown's future. i predict he will surpass your predictions this year AND next. i am willing to commit to an awe inspiring wager as testiment to my belief.

if brown surpasses your prediction, you click and give me 10 valuable and precious tps each year. if brown does not, then i will return the favor.

and if brown manages to average EXACTLY 6 points a game, well hell, let's give each tps. ha, ha.

deal? 

if the #3 pick actually averages 6 points, that's pretty brutally depressing.  Last year the #3 pick averaged 17 and 7 with 50% shooting and folks around here think he's worth a grilled cheese sandwich.   God help us if brown lives up to my expectations.

If you can't see the difference between piling up empty stats on a 10 win team and the type of stats Brown will get on a top 4 playoff team in more limited minutes, well then that's on you.

agreed. Larbrd has a long history of being overly obsessed with stats because he is into fantasy basketball. He also will include them when they fit a narrative, but ignore them, particularly advanced stats. Obviously if Brown was on last year's Philadelphia team and somehow averaged 6 points a game that would be a complete disaster. However, even if he absolutely horrible he would probably averaged 10-12 points a game in Philly alone living at the free throw line. He also had some pretty good raw statistical games in summer league. If he shoots a bit worse and averages 3 points less a game than Okafor that would seemingly be offset by far superior defensive talent and upside. Defense is a lot harder to capture in raw stats like rebounding and scoring so Larbrd omits it (another reason he likes to bag on smart), except in the rare case of Noel cause he could wrap his head around the concept of 2 steals and 2 blocks a game.

[celticsclay]

I mean, I know LarBrd has a reputation for being a Celtic pessimist, but I don't see how anyone could logically begin to argue that Jaylen Brown is already a better player than Aaron Gordon.

There's nothing.  Zero evidence to support it.  It's complete nonsense.

And I'm not saying Gordon is a superstar.  I'm saying:

- Jaylen just struggled in Summer League.  Shot 32% from the field and 22% from three.  He's got a long way to go.

- A year ago, Gordon dominated summer league.  Comparing them on that level is a no-contest.

- Gordon was considered a better prospect and is heading into his third year.  It's not fair to compare Jaylen to him yet.  5 years from now it might be a different story.

- Gordon hasn't lit the world on fire yet either, but he is expected to start this season and put up decent averages of 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal as a 20 year old starter for his team last year.   I'm not sure how anyone could have watched Jaylen in College/Summer League and come away with expectations that he's going to make a bigger impact as a raw rookie than Gordon did as a 2nd year pro - let alone a 3rd year pro.   It's silly.

by who?

Go tweet at your favorite draft expert to fill you in on how Gordon was perceiving coming into the league vs how Jaylen was seen.  That doesn't really matter one way or the other. 

From what I've seen right now:  Gordon is a better shooter, better finisher, more athletic, has more size, better defender, more explosive, better passer.  I don't see anything really that Jaylen does better than Gordon.   Naturally, people will take that the wrong way and assume I'm saying Gordon is a star. That's not what I'm saying at all.  Gordon isn't that great yet.  Jaylen is worse.   Might be a tough concept for some to get their mind around, but that's all I'm saying.   Terry Rozier isn't very good right now.  If I compare him favorably to Demetrius Jackson, it doesn't mean I'm saying Rozier is a hall of famer.   

 If we're comparing Gordon to Jaylen right now, I don't see anything Jaylen does better.

I hope that changes.  It could.  They are both teenagers.  Anything can happen long-term.

Are you saying Brown is not better at drawing contact and fouls?

[celticsclay]

I mean, I know LarBrd has a reputation for being a Celtic pessimist, but I don't see how anyone could logically begin to argue that Jaylen Brown is already a better player than Aaron Gordon.

There's nothing.  Zero evidence to support it.  It's complete nonsense.

And I'm not saying Gordon is a superstar.  I'm saying:

- Jaylen just struggled in Summer League.  Shot 32% from the field and 22% from three.  He's got a long way to go.

- A year ago, Gordon dominated summer league.  Comparing them on that level is a no-contest.

- Gordon was considered a better prospect and is heading into his third year.  It's not fair to compare Jaylen to him yet.  5 years from now it might be a different story.

- Gordon hasn't lit the world on fire yet either, but he is expected to start this season and put up decent averages of 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal as a 20 year old starter for his team last year.   I'm not sure how anyone could have watched Jaylen in College/Summer League and come away with expectations that he's going to make a bigger impact as a raw rookie than Gordon did as a 2nd year pro - let alone a 3rd year pro.   It's silly.

by who?

Go tweet at your favorite draft expert to fill you in on how Gordon was perceiving coming into the league vs how Jaylen was seen.  That doesn't really matter one way or the other. 

From what I've seen right now:  Gordon is a better shooter, better finisher, more athletic, has more size, better defender, more explosive, better passer.  I don't see anything really that Jaylen does better than Gordon.   Naturally, people will take that the wrong way and assume I'm saying Gordon is a star. That's not what I'm saying at all.  Gordon isn't that great yet.  Jaylen is worse.   Might be a tough concept for some to get their mind around, but that's all I'm saying.   Terry Rozier isn't very good right now.  If I compare him favorably to Demetrius Jackson, it doesn't mean I'm saying Rozier is a hall of famer.   

 If we're comparing Gordon to Jaylen right now, I don't see anything Jaylen does better.

I hope that changes.  It could.  They are both teenagers.  Anything can happen long-term.

Looked at all high school rankings and they had the same ratings both overall and as a member of their class

Gordon was 96 and number 4 in class
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/96195/aaron-gordon
Same exact rating as Brown
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/player/_/id/146799/jaylen-brown

Looking at Rivals they look pretty similar
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/maple/133802
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/17269

Not sure where you are pulling this idea they are different level prospects from, just making it up or what?

[LarBrd33]

It's fine to say Gordon isn't a great shooter.  I'd agree with that.  He's not a great shooter.  But you're quoting Gordon's shooting percentages (48% from the field last season and 30% from three), at least point out that Jaylen Brown is coming into this league with a reputation as a terrible shooter.  (College: 43% from the field with 29% from three).  He just backed up that criticism by shooting 32% from the field and 22% from three against a competition level that Aaron Gordon straight-up dominated (Gordon had arguably the best Summer League of the past decade).    If you're expecting Brown to miraculously shoot better as an NBA rookie than he did in College or Summer League, fine... but all signs point to him being worse than Gordon right now.

Go ahead and share more stats about how poor a shooter Aaron Gordon is.  Alls I'm saying is, those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones... unless you're Jaylen Brown... in which case, throw all the stones you want, you ain't hitting anything.

Actually if you read scouting reports before draft Gordon was considered a bad shooter. Probably worsh than Brown especially factoring in free throw percentage.

And that has basically nothing to do with Aaron Gordon in year 3.  He made leaps between his rookie and sophomore season.  Perhaps Jaylen will to.    So telling me that Gordon was considered a bad shooter coming into the draft ... while Jaylen is also considered a bad shooter - doesn't really prove anything, right?

Anyways... Gordon was seen as a better prospect.   Look no further than the world-famous Chad Ford Draft tier article.

Scouts/experts had Gordon as a tier 2 prospect.  "Tier 2 is reserved for players who are projected as potential All-Stars by scouts.".   Gordon was in there above Marcus Smart, who Gordon was drafted ahead of and continues to be seen as a better prospect than two years later. 

Scouts/experts had Brown as a tier 3 prospect.  "This tier is typically reserved for players who are projected as NBA starters".   He also mentioned:  "Of this group, Bender and Brown were the only players to receive Tier 4 votes."

So Gordon was seen as a future star heading into the draft.  Some saw Brown as a projecting as a high-level rotation player.

2014 Draft tiers:  http://hawksquawk.net/community/topic/394690-chad-ford-ranking-draft-prospects-by-tiers-2014/

2016 Draft tiers:  http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=85249.0

Is what it is.

So now that we've gotten that out of the way and established that yes, Gordon was seen as a superior prospect, we can go back to comparing them right now.

Give me one piece of evidence that suggests any part of Jaylen Brown's game is superior to Aaron Gordon right now.  I don't see any.   From everything we've seen, Brown isn't as good as Gordon right now.  This is understandable, though considering Gordon is heading into his 3rd NBA season and Jaylen, having never played an NBA game, just got done struggling in Summer league. 

Naturally, I'll now be labelled a "hater" by some of the more ignorant menaces that fester on this forum.   Others will rabblerouse about how I'm a Orlando Magic fan and have Aaron Gordon posters on my wall.  But I assure you, I'm firmly on the Jaylen Brown bandwagon.  I've been supportive of the pick.   I trust Ainge.  Brown shows signs of being good some day.  I was encouraged by aspects of his summer league performance.  I am looking forward very much to watching him develop.   But again, I see no reason to believe any part of his game is better than Gordon right now.

[celticsclay]

It's fine to say Gordon isn't a great shooter.  I'd agree with that.  He's not a great shooter.  But you're quoting Gordon's shooting percentages (48% from the field last season and 30% from three), at least point out that Jaylen Brown is coming into this league with a reputation as a terrible shooter.  (College: 43% from the field with 29% from three).  He just backed up that criticism by shooting 32% from the field and 22% from three against a competition level that Aaron Gordon straight-up dominated (Gordon had arguably the best Summer League of the past decade).    If you're expecting Brown to miraculously shoot better as an NBA rookie than he did in College or Summer League, fine... but all signs point to him being worse than Gordon right now.

Go ahead and share more stats about how poor a shooter Aaron Gordon is.  Alls I'm saying is, those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones... unless you're Jaylen Brown... in which case, throw all the stones you want, you ain't hitting anything.

Actually if you read scouting reports before draft Gordon was considered a bad shooter. Probably worsh than Brown especially factoring in free throw percentage.

And that has basically nothing to do with Aaron Gordon in year 3.  He made leaps between his rookie and sophomore season.  Perhaps Jaylen will to.    So telling me that Gordon was considered a bad shooter coming into the draft ... while Jaylen is also considered a bad shooter - doesn't really prove anything, right?

Anyways... Gordon was seen as a better prospect.   Look no further than the world-famous Chad Ford Draft tier article.

Scouts/experts had Gordon as a tier 2 prospect.  "Tier 2 is reserved for players who are projected as potential All-Stars by scouts.".   Gordon was in there above Marcus Smart, who Gordon was drafted ahead of and continues to be seen as a better prospect than two years later. 

Scouts/experts had Brown as a tier 3 prospect.  "This tier is typically reserved for players who are projected as NBA starters".   He also mentioned:  "Of this group, Bender and Brown were the only players to receive Tier 4 votes."

So Gordon was seen as a future star heading into the draft.  Some saw Brown as a projecting as a high-level rotation player.

2014 Draft tiers:  http://hawksquawk.net/community/topic/394690-chad-ford-ranking-draft-prospects-by-tiers-2014/

2016 Draft tiers:  http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=85249.0

Is what it is.

So now that we've gotten that out of the way and established that yes, Gordon was seen as a superior prospect, we can go back to comparing them right now.

Give me one piece of evidence that suggests any part of Jaylen Brown's game is superior to Aaron Gordon right now.  I don't see any.   From everything we've seen, Brown isn't as good as Gordon right now.  This is understandable, though considering Gordon is heading into his 3rd NBA season and Jaylen, having never played an NBA game, just got done struggling in Summer league. 

Naturally, I'll now be labelled a "hater" by some of the more ignorant menaces that fester on this forum.   Others will rabblerouse about how I'm a Orlando Magic fan and have Aaron Gordon posters on my wall.  But I assure you, I'm firmly on the Jaylen Brown bandwagon.  I've been supportive of the pick.   I trust Ainge.  Brown shows signs of being good some day.  I was encouraged by aspects of his summer league performance.  I am looking forward very much to watching him develop.   But again, I see no reason to believe any part of his game is better than Gordon right now.

Did you seriously just use Chad Ford's tiers? Why not use how many pokemon the guys caught? This is a guy that edits his draft orders after the fact to make himself look smarter, and we are supposed to take his tiers level as gospel? They were both rated very similarly coming out of high school my any site i could find (both within their class and overall) and you choose to come back with Chad Ford tiers. 

Edit: Also I have to ask.. did you even look at who Ford was putting in these infamous tiers in the link you sent?
Gary Harris Stauskas and McDermot were tier 3? 

Porzingas was tier 4? This is tier 4 levels prospects behind Stauskas, McDermott:Nurkic, Payne, Nurkic, Young, Hood Lavine etc...

I mean why not just throw a dart at a mock draft and call it a column?
 

Looking at these tiers reminds of the "samsonite I was way off bit" from dumb and dumber. Maybe don't use these as an argument of value/talent/rating again?

[LarBrd33]

It's fine to say Gordon isn't a great shooter.  I'd agree with that.  He's not a great shooter.  But you're quoting Gordon's shooting percentages (48% from the field last season and 30% from three), at least point out that Jaylen Brown is coming into this league with a reputation as a terrible shooter.  (College: 43% from the field with 29% from three).  He just backed up that criticism by shooting 32% from the field and 22% from three against a competition level that Aaron Gordon straight-up dominated (Gordon had arguably the best Summer League of the past decade).    If you're expecting Brown to miraculously shoot better as an NBA rookie than he did in College or Summer League, fine... but all signs point to him being worse than Gordon right now.

Go ahead and share more stats about how poor a shooter Aaron Gordon is.  Alls I'm saying is, those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones... unless you're Jaylen Brown... in which case, throw all the stones you want, you ain't hitting anything.

Actually if you read scouting reports before draft Gordon was considered a bad shooter. Probably worsh than Brown especially factoring in free throw percentage.

And that has basically nothing to do with Aaron Gordon in year 3.  He made leaps between his rookie and sophomore season.  Perhaps Jaylen will to.    So telling me that Gordon was considered a bad shooter coming into the draft ... while Jaylen is also considered a bad shooter - doesn't really prove anything, right?

Anyways... Gordon was seen as a better prospect.   Look no further than the world-famous Chad Ford Draft tier article.

Scouts/experts had Gordon as a tier 2 prospect.  "Tier 2 is reserved for players who are projected as potential All-Stars by scouts.".   Gordon was in there above Marcus Smart, who Gordon was drafted ahead of and continues to be seen as a better prospect than two years later. 

Scouts/experts had Brown as a tier 3 prospect.  "This tier is typically reserved for players who are projected as NBA starters".   He also mentioned:  "Of this group, Bender and Brown were the only players to receive Tier 4 votes."

So Gordon was seen as a future star heading into the draft.  Some saw Brown as a projecting as a high-level rotation player.

2014 Draft tiers:  http://hawksquawk.net/community/topic/394690-chad-ford-ranking-draft-prospects-by-tiers-2014/

2016 Draft tiers:  http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=85249.0

Is what it is.

So now that we've gotten that out of the way and established that yes, Gordon was seen as a superior prospect, we can go back to comparing them right now.

Give me one piece of evidence that suggests any part of Jaylen Brown's game is superior to Aaron Gordon right now.  I don't see any.   From everything we've seen, Brown isn't as good as Gordon right now.  This is understandable, though considering Gordon is heading into his 3rd NBA season and Jaylen, having never played an NBA game, just got done struggling in Summer league. 

Naturally, I'll now be labelled a "hater" by some of the more ignorant menaces that fester on this forum.   Others will rabblerouse about how I'm a Orlando Magic fan and have Aaron Gordon posters on my wall.  But I assure you, I'm firmly on the Jaylen Brown bandwagon.  I've been supportive of the pick.   I trust Ainge.  Brown shows signs of being good some day.  I was encouraged by aspects of his summer league performance.  I am looking forward very much to watching him develop.   But again, I see no reason to believe any part of his game is better than Gordon right now.

Did you seriously just use Chad Ford's tiers? Why not use how many pokemon the guys caught? This is a guy that edits his draft orders after the fact to make himself look smarter, and we are supposed to take his tiers level as gospel? They were both rated very similarly coming out of high school my any site i could find (both within their class and overall) and you choose to come back with Chad Ford tiers. 

It's based on his conversations with scouts and front offices.  It's not his personal mock.  It's supposed to give you a sense of how significant the prospects are seen as they enter the draft.  Point is, Gordon was seen as a future star.  Opinions on Brown are split between those who think he's going to be a future starter and those who think he projects as a high quality rotation player.

We hope for the best, though.