The Boston Celtics have found an answer to their most urgent summer issue. Jaylen Brown will remain with the team for the foreseeable future.
According to his agency, the Celtics’ wing has agreed to a five-year supermax deal extension for up to $304 million.
It’s the costliest contract in NBA history, topping Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic’s $264 million deal inked last summer.
The agreement was initially reported by ESPN and confirmed by Brown’s agent, Jason Glushon, to The Associated Press.
Brown will remain with the franchise that chose him third overall in 2016 and seen him blossom into a two-time All-Star.
Last season, he set career highs with 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. However, those figures dropped during the playoffs, when the Celtics were defeated in the Eastern Conference finals by the Miami Heat. Brown scored 19 points on 8-of-23 shooting in Game 7, completing only one of nine 3-point tries.
Nonetheless, his experience in Boston has made him a critical member of the team’s current core, which management was unwilling to risk losing when his current four-year contract expires after next season.
Brown was eligible for the supermax deal since he made the All-NBA second team for the first time in his career.
Since the conclusion of the previous season, Celtics head of basketball operations Brad Stevens has been anxious that Brown sign a long-term contract.
“He’s a major part of who we are. “We believe in him, and I appreciate him,” Stevens remarked last month. “I’m grateful that when those guys succeed, they come back to work.” And when they are beaten, they acknowledge it and return to work. So I know what they’re all about. And that is difficult to come by.”
All-Star Jayson Tatum, who has teamed with Brown to lead the Celtics’ one-two punch to the NBA Finals in 2021-22 and the conference finals last season, echoed those comments.
Tatum said after Boston’s East finals defeat in May that keeping Brown long-term was “extremely important.”
“He’s one of the best players in this league,” Tatum said of his teammate. “He plays both ends of the pitch and is still quite young.” And he’s done a lot in his career thus far. As a result, I believe it is critical.”
Brown’s new contract will almost certainly result in some financial manoeuvring in the road, as the league’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement places tighter restrictions on how clubs form their rosters and imposes further luxury tax penalties.
Tatum is still playing under the terms of his rookie contract, which began last season, and will be eligible for a possible supermax deal next summer.
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