Boston Celtics rising star Jaylen Brown is coming into his fourth and final year of his rookie contract. What impact will fellow 2016 classmate Caris LeVert‘s contract extension have one Brown come next June?
NBA salaries have never been more lucrative as they are in today’s landscape. The Boston Celtics face a potential conundrum next summer with multiple impending free agents. Perhaps the most pressing concern for Danny Ainge & co. is what Jaylen Brown’s price point may look like for the 2020-21 season and beyond.
A relevant example of what Brown’s potential starting price could look like is Caris LeVert’s multi-year contract extension with the Brooklyn Nets. The 22-year-old’s annual salary will be roughly $17 million over the course of his 3-year commitment with Brooklyn.
Brown on the other hand will have the chance to negotiate with more than just the Boston Celtics. Unlike LeVert, Brown will be entering unrestricted free agency at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.
On the Brooklyn Nets, Caris LeVert has primarily been a secondary offensive weapon. While he has the ability to run and stretch the floor, he has oft been left in the shadows of “superior” options in D’Angelo Russell and Spencer Dinwidii. Now, with Kyrie Irving and — in 2020-21– Kevin Durant in the fold, the fourth year pro will continue to be an, at best, tertiary option.
Brown’s starting point for his next contract will rise dramatically if he is able to put it all together for the Boston Celtics this upcoming season. Unlike LeVert, there doesn’t appear to be a glass ceiling for how high Brown can fly.
In Brooklyn, LeVert will be putting up with a ball dominant & domineering point guard in Irving. Brown, however, has no such road block to maximizing his potential. In fact, he will be flanked by a point guard in Kemba Walker who appears just as ready to elevate Browns game as the 22-year-old himself.
Walker is not the only new arrival in Beantown that is ecstatic about the young wing’s potential. Recently, projected starting center Enes Kanter talked about how excited he is to play with both Brown and Jayson Tatum. In fact, he went as far as to say both players could find themselves participating in this upcoming season’s All-Star game in Chicago.
“I think both have the potential to be All-Stars this year. I think they have all of the tools – they’re hardworking guys, they’re willing to learn, they have amazing character on and off the court and they’re amazingly talented. I think for Jaylen and Jayson the ceiling is, of course, to be All-Stars.”
It is clear Brown’s fellow teammates believe he has the capability of being a top option on a legitimate contender. Whether he gets a massive payday from the Boston Celtics or an offer sheet from another franchise, one thing is for sure: the man will get paid.
Will it be in the ball park of LeVert’s per season salary with Brooklyn? Perhaps. However, that annual number is simply just the starting point.