While there have been rumblings that the successful relationship between the Boston Celtics and homegrown star Jaylen Brown could come to an end before next season, most interested teams around the NBA expect him to play many more years in Beantown.
For the third time in four years, the Boston Celtics are in the Eastern Conference Finals and looking to take one step closer to bringing the legendary franchise its seventeenth title. However, they first have to beat a historic Miami Heat team that has been surprising NBA observers throughout this year’s playoffs.
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If the Boston Celtics did shockingly lose to the eight-seed Heat, a narrative will immediately start the next morning about All-Star Jaylen Brown’s future with the organization. During an interview with the New York Times earlier this season, he spoke about his issues with the sometimes “toxic” Celtics fan base and gave the impression his future with the team is not guaranteed.
The 26-year-old has just one season left on his contract and there has been speculation the team could look to trade him before losing him in the summer of 2024. However, last week may have changed those plans when Jaylen Brown was named to the All-NBA team. The honor pushed him into a category that now makes him eligible for a massive supermax extension worth $295 million.
Boston Celtics record (’22-’23): 57-25
On Friday, Yahoo Sports senior NBA reporter Jake Fischer told Sportsnaut that while teams will certainly call about Brown’s availability if the Celtics don’t make it to the finals, most organizations expect him to take the unique financial opportunity he can only get in Boston.
“I’m sure that if they lose, Boston will receive plenty of inbound calls about Jaylen Brown’s availability. [Brown’s future in Boston] really hasn’t been a giant talking point from my conversations at this juncture of the offseason.
“Just being selected on an All-NBA team; for him to get on one of those All-NBA teams is all he needed to do to qualify for a super-max extension, which he’s only eligible to attain with the team that drafted him, the Boston Celtics. That kind of suggested to a lot of rival teams that he will be signing that deal and be sticking around in Boston.”
– Jake Fischer
If Jaylen Brown didn’t sign the max deal, he could get $40 million less in free agency from the Boston Celtics and even fewer years and money from other teams. If the Celtics are willing, the deal likely will be just too good for Brown to pass on despite his apparent issues with the fans or even the organization.