While the expectation is that the Boston Celtics and Jaylen Brown will agree to terms on a long-term supermax deal, a new report claims there are still some major hurdles that could derail a potential deal.
After being taken with the third pick overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, the work the Boston Celtics have put in to develop Jaylen Brown over the last seven years has paid off. He is currently a premiere swingman in the league and now a two-time All-Star. However, after such success, it is also now time to pay the man.
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Following the team’s disappointing loss in the Eastern Conference Finals this spring, one of the biggest stories heading into the offseason was on if the organization would lock the 26-year-old up to the supermax deal he became eligible for when he earned All-NBA honors this season.
It seemed like a formality that a deal would get done this summer, but that may not necessarily be the case.
- Jaylen Brown stats (’22-’23): 26.6 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 34% 3PT
Boston Celtics record (’22-’23): 57-25
On Thursday, Mass Live Celtics reporter Brian Robb reported that “There are issues to work out” in the five-year, $295 million supermax contract Brown is eligible. The specifics could be enough to sink a potential deal and include a trade kicker and player option for the fifth year of the deal.
While those examples don’t seem serious enough to cause concern, Robb admits that the fifth-year option could be a place where Jaylen Brown stands his ground since it would give him far more contract flexibility down the line.
Also of note is he could bet on himself and head into free agency, where he could take a lesser deal that is still financially beneficial, and then wait until he passes 10 years in the league and is then eligible for 35% of the salary cap. The current structure of the supermax deal he could sign this summer would only allow him to make 30% of the current cap.
It’s certainly a major story to watch in the coming weeks since there have been various reports during the season that Brown is not opposed to an NBA life away from the Boston Celtics.