In a trend you've probably noticed, the Boston Celtics have loaded up on taller, mobile wings. The commitment to interchangeable pieces should help the team in a lot of ways, but will also create a few puzzles for head coach Brad Stevens. It's not the worst problem to have enough talented wings to limit minutes for the two most recent No. 3 overall picks, but it's worth watching how Stevens will juggle the playing time -- and just how creative his lineup choices will grow.

Already, Stevens has begun plotting ways to maximize all the versatility, using summer league as a lab for Jaylen Brown. A bruised thigh may have ended Brown's summer league already, but the wing spent the last two weeks trying to expand his game. That quest might have been most obvious on the offensive side of the court, where Brown, mostly just a finisher as a rookie, attempted to create more plays. He looked brilliant at times and inept at others, but that's what happens when players try to stretch their comfort zone. More interestingly, Brown spent a lot of time defending playmaking guards, an indicator of one way Stevens will use the second-year pro.

"He's just a guy that can do that, and the more positions that he can guard the more flexible we can be," Stevens said in Las Vegas earlier this week. "He didn't spend a ton of time on 1s this year, but certainly he guarded 2s quite a bit as the season went on. And he had that stretch in the middle of the year where he was starting that we were just throwing him on guys just to throw him on guys and give him experience. So hopefully all that stuff pays off. He's a good enough athlete to guard a number of positions, and now he's a year in. He should be more familiar with how our defensive system works and those types of things."

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has said he beefed up on perimeter size partially to make up for Isaiah Thomas' lack of height. There is wisdom behind that strategy, but the team will still miss its best on-ball defender, Avery Bradley, who was traded to the Detroit Pistons last week. Considering how Boston likes to hide Thomas when possible, there's opportunity for anyone capable of defending the opponent's best guard. Marcus Smart will log minutes in that role, of course, and Terry Rozier's playoff run suggested he could be ready for more playing time. But Brown is another intriguing option. Assuming he's ready to chase ball-handlers, he could potentially unlock some jumbo perimeter combinations.

Suddenly, Boston has a flock of big, athletic, skilled guys who can mash smaller dudes in the post. After adding Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum and Marcus Morris, the Celtics are set up to be mismatch abusers, capable of mutilating backcourts with bully ball and stretching out slow-footed bigs to the arc. Stevens should have fun tinkering with all the possibilities, but will have even more options if guys like Brown can handle additional defensive responsibilities.

During summer league, the Celtics have asked the 20-year-old to defend a number of point guards, including Markelle Fultz. At 6-foot-7, Brown has quick feet, great balance and plus physicality -- all the tools to make life difficult for his primary matchup. He rarely guarded PGs as a rookie, but showed off some promising spurts when he did.

This is about as well as anyone can defend Stephen Curry:

Brown handled several positions as a rookie, but played some of his best basketball while starting at shooting guard for the injured Bradley. As a talented low-post player, Brown thrived with smaller defenders on him; if he can guard PGs, his size will stress out opponents at the other end.

With all the talented wings on the roster, Brown expects even more experimenting from the Celtics coaching staff this year.

"(Training camp will) be ultra competitive," Brown said. "There will be a lot of guys that want to get on the floor. It's going to be interesting. It's going to be a little different. There's going to be a lot of versatility on the floor, there's going to be a lot of matchup and positional changes. I think Brad will challenge some guys to step out of their comfort zones."

Added Brown: "I'm comfortable with whatever. If Brad wants me to play 1, 2, 3 or 4-to-6, it doesn't matter, I'll play it. I'll do whatever it takes. I trust Brad's judgment and his coaching. He's a very good coach, so however I can get myself on the floor and help my team, I'm willing to do it."

Presumably, Brown won't spend much time guarding non-existent 6s. But it's clear the Celtics coaching staff wants him to collect more experience on playmaking guards. Trying to stand out amid a sea of flexible wings, every extra bit of versatility helps.