Jaylen Brown, the 2024 Finals Most Valuable Player, carries so much gravitas on the offensive end that the Philadelphia 76ers, by default, will almost certainly give him a huge slice of the pie on the ball-handling front. Yet, the team has to brace for the adverse effects that his tendencies could yield, especially when it comes to coughing the ball up.
The fit is one thing some pundits have expressed concerns about, and it is bound to stay rough at the beginning because of one area where he has struggled with the Celtics –– being a reliable playmaker.
The 76ers have to adjust to Jaylen Brown's oft-erratic playmaking
Brown averaged 5.1 assists to 3.6 turnovers last season, which is pretty telling of his relative discomfort as a playmaking hub. In the campaign prior to that, he registered 4.5 dimes a night while turning the ball over just 2.6 times on average. Hence, the available data points to him being more erratic with more on-ball duties.
The idea that Brown will have to settle for a more off-ball role now that he has Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe around him is also a tad too arbitrary. Among those players, Brown is the one who struggles the most with impacting the game without handling the rock. Nick Nurse and his staff are likely to funnel the offense through him for the most part, especially as the team intends to shift to a faster style of play.
76ers are missing a natural playmaker to help Brown
The lack of a natural playmaker could haunt the 76ers. Boston had the same issue as it relied on a bunch of combo guards to get the job done, which cudgeled them into having to install Brown as their main source of table-setting. The mixed results from this past season are a hefty preview of what Philly has to adjust to with him in the fold.
This might become more of a secondary issue in the end, but the point stands that the 76ers will need to recalibrate their approach in order to make life easier for Jaylen Brown as a ball handler and ultimately, for the team as a collective.
As currently constructed and even before the prospect of landing another blockbuster target, the Philadelphia 76ers will enter the 2026-27 season as one of the clear-cut favorites to come out of the East. The race in the conference may be as tight as ever, and Philly's ball control could end up being a key factor in their success.
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