Celtics' ruthless Jaylen Brown decision took less than two weeks to change the league

Former Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown became the latest casualty of the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement last week when he was dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers. Celtics president Brad Stevens opened his first media availability following the blockbuster by saying that the path towards building a winning team becomes more challenging with two stars (Brown and Jayson Tatum) consuming the majority of the team’s salary cap.

“The path looked a little bit more challenging to me,” Stevens said Monday. “I might be wrong. I’m not going to stand up there and be defensive about that. But the path looked a little bit more challenging with 70% of our (salary) cap, and such a high percent of our usage tied into two players.”

As gut wrenching as the fallout from Brown’s exit has been, Stevens’ reasoning is understandable. The NBA’s penalties for teams who consistently overspend make it extremely difficult to sustain success with a high payroll.

The 10-year Celtic still has three more seasons left on his current contract, but is eligible for a contract extension this summer. If he and the 76ers agree to terms, Brown could earn a supermax salary for an additional two years starting in his age 33 season -- a steep price to pay for an aging star.

It’s tough because it wouldn’t have always gone down this way. Before these financial restrictions were added in 2023, teams could get away with paying to retain their own players without serious repercussions beyond the luxury tax.

Now it’s significantly harder.

Did Jaylen Brown's shocking exit motivate Wemby to take a pay cut?

Boston almost certainly factored this into their decision to move on from him, which makes Victor Wembanyama’s willingness to take a pay cut for the San Antonio Spurs with his rookie extension looming sting for Celtics fans.

The Defensive Player of the Year hinted as such on Friday morning, with NBA Insider Jake Fischer quickly providing context to the vague post.

“There has been word this morning in Las Vegas that Victor Wembanyama is considering signing less than his maximum rookie scale extension to provide San Antonio greater financial flexibility,” Fischer wrote in a post to X.

Wembanyama later agreed to sign for five years at 5% less than the supermax salary.

Seeing Wembanyama, an already established, yet still rising star more than willing to sign for less than the absolute max not only opens the door for some jealously, but shows how impactful the Celtics’ decision to trade the 2024 Finals MVP may be down the line.

If Wemby, a player poised to be worth every single penny on whatever contract he signs, is willing to play for less with his team’s best interest in line, it could set the precedent for other stars to follow suit down the line.

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