FVV is 85% the player that Brown is for less than half the money + we didn't have to trade any draft picks/blue chip prospects to get him
Putting aside Brown, the returns aren't proportional when you're talking about having All-NBA level players vs. guys who put up "85%" of the numbers which is part of the reaosn why the NBA salary cap is tilted so high to the upside and why teams sell out for starts. Like if you have 85% of Steph Curry's 3 point shooting, you're at 35.7%. That's pretty good, but it's not really close to the value of having a Steph Curry level shooter let alone the value of having Steph Curry himself and the kind of 3 point shooting he gives you. Fred van vleet junking his way to 19 points on 39% shooting is not horrible compared to what the Rockets have had; but it's not remotely close to the value added by Brown's 27 points on 49% shooting (and his salary reflects it) or most other All-NBA caliber players. So even in a land of purely pyhrric value chart victories, i don't think there is one here.
Quite frankly, I could see FVV improving the win total of the Celtics more than Brown. The main thing the Celtics are missing is a primary ball handling playmaker who can organize offensive sets. Brown is a reductive worse version of Tatum basically.
Maybe a short term fix but the rational mind would still take the 26 year old over the 29 year old. I think Brown hit another level the last couple years, before that he was just a fringe star player. Would Jalen Brunson or Lillard be a better fit on the Celtics, maybe ......it is what it is. I also think Derrick White can improve to the point that they would not think about it all the time.
Of course long term Brown is more of a centerpiece for the future. Agree there. But ya for the short term I could see FVV improving the Celtics more than Brown. Brown probably has one more mini leap in him. Probably improve his handles more.
Obviously Van Vleet had the chance to chase a ring instead of big money, he chose the obvious, security over a sure proven contender. I cannot fault him for that but at the same time, it is not like he never had a chance, and he already won a title.
Honestly calling him 85% of the player might have been underselling him. By some statistical measures he's actually a better player than Brown. Do I really think that's true? No, mainly because a 6'1" point guard just never has the same type of defensive impact that a 6'6" wing does, all else being equal. But on offense, it's very close overall when you consider FVV's playmaking and Brown's lack thereof. But I do think Brown is an overrated player. I wasn't surprised he made All-NBA, but that doesn't mean I think he deserved it. And FVV is slightly underrated, partly because of the same thing you're doing here (calling him a 39% shooter, which is true, but overly reductive given that a whopping 56% of his shots the past three seasons were three pointers, which he hit at a solid 36.1% rate).
The All-NBA --> supermax thing is just dumb. Why would you want to make teams give a kind of contract that is based on a VOTED award? Why not just let the market decide what a player is worth?
No they should not They should go for Ausar Thompson instead. The Thompson Twins. Thompson Twins > Jalen Green
