Coming into the last week of July, there were three big deals still waiting to be done in the NBA. Damian Lillard and James Harden’s trade requests were the most talked about, as the two former All-NBA guards looked to push their way to Miami and L.A. respectively.
There was also the question of Jaylen Brown’s contract extension in Boston, where the two sides had somewhat surprisingly not come to an agreement on the max extension he was eligible for on July 1. The Celtics didn’t have much choice but to make the max offer, but the details of the contract were where the two sides had to work things out. On Tuesday, that finally happened with Shams Charania and Marc Spears reporting Brown was signing his 5-year, $304 million deal that was fully guaranteed, with no player or team option, and included a trade kicker that will make it highly unlikely he gets moved out of Boston any time in the near future.
BREAKING: Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown has agreed to a five-year, $304 million supermax contract extension with the franchise, per sources. This is the richest deal in NBA history, negotiated by agent Jason Glushon.
Fully guaranteed, with a trade kicker. No player option. pic.twitter.com/MQ6NKILY8Q
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 25, 2023
Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics have agreed on a five-year supermax extension worth up to $304 million, the richest contract in NBA history, his agent Jason Glushon of @GlushonSM tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/oYmD6XDy9D
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 25, 2023
After the way this season ended for Boston going down 3-0 to the Miami Heat, fighting back to force a Game 7, and then losing at home, there was an expectation for some serious changes for the Celtics this summer. That resulted in Marcus Smart being traded to the Grizzlies in a three-team deal to bring in Kristaps Porzingis, and the longer Brown’s extension talks dragged, there was at least some wonder to whether they were looking at whether he was the right guy next to Jayson Tatum long-term.
With this extension now done, they’ve answered that question and now it’s incumbent on he and Tatum to find a way to get them to the next level, having made five trips to the conference finals together, but just one Finals appearance. Success for Celtics stars is measured in championships, and with both of them now on max deals, that’s the expectation. This year they’ll have a new co-star in Porzingis to work in, and we’ll see if that was the missing piece to bring a bit more balance to their offense.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/jaylen-brown-max-contract-extension-celtics-details/