The Boston Celtics have a big decision to make this summer. Star forward Jaylen Brown is eligible for a supermax extension that would pay him up to $295 million. Combine that with Jayson Tatum’s remaining $104 million on his deal, and the Celtics will be paying over half a billion dollars on two players.
Tatum is worth every penny. Brown is not.
Brown had an excellent regular season where he averaged career-highs in points, rebounds, and assists. He made the All-Star team for the second time in his career, and he was selected as Second Team All-NBA. Despite this, Brown had a poor postseason, especially in Game 7 against the Miami Heat. After Tatum suffered the ankle injury, most Celtics fans assumed Brown would take over and show why he considers himself an elite player.
Brown ultimately caved in the biggest moment of his career, and he effectively showed what he is. He was not ready for the moment as he had an abysmal 19 points on 8/23 shooting from the field and 1/9 shooting from the 3-point line. The performance was the worst of his career, considering the circumstances — and the combination of this performance and his past playoff failures makes me apprehensive about the idea of giving him $295 million.
Jaylen Brown: “Just a terrible game when my team needed me most.”
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) May 30, 2023
Said after Tatum’s injury, “My team turned to me to make plays, etc. and I came up short I failed. … I give credit to Miami but just a terrible job.”
Brown isn’t worth a Supermax contract because he is not a top-10 player or capable of being the best player on a championship team. Supermax contracts should only be given to the top 5-10 players in the league or true number one players on a title team. When you look at the potential money earned per year on the contract, it’s alarming.
Jaylen Browns super max contract would look like this. 😳 pic.twitter.com/jwCpksPLvt
— Savage (@SavageSports_) May 30, 2023
The Boston Celtics will likely give Jaylen Brown a Supermax — but I wouldn’t
The Boston Celtics will give Brown the contract, but I wouldn’t if I were the owner. With the new CBA rules that want to prevent this scenario, building a championship team is only going to get harder. I would be more than fine with having two Supermax guys if they already won a title, but in the case of Tatum and Brown, they have yet to earn it.
The Celtics will have no other alternative but to keep Brown, but I think they should think long and hard about the ramifications of the Supermax contract.