The stakes of the Jaylen Brown supermax

The Celtics lock up a non-MVP candidate at an MVP price. But if the Celtics fall short over the next half-dozen years, that won't be why.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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The Mill; Rembrandt; 1648

As long expected, the Celtics inked Jaylen Brown to a supermax extension, which by virtue of the timing becomes the most lucrative deal in NBA history: five years, $303 million. It kicks in for the 2024-25 season. By the time it ends, Brown will be 32 years old. This deal locks Brown up for his entire age-based anticipated prime.

With Jayson Tatum’s supermax extension arriving a year from now, this deal essentially locks in a good portion of Boston’s salary cap sheet for two players. Given Brown’s visible issues in recent playoff performances and the Celtics’ overall limitations, this has some analysts wondering aloud if the decision to lock in Brown puts a cap on Boston’s championship potential.

I disagree. Why? This team was two wins away from a championship in 2022. Put another way, this team was a legendary Stephen Curry performance away from a championship in 2022. The Celtics were on the path, had a series lead and ran into one of the greatest Finals performances of all-time by a three-time championship and two-time NBA MVP. The idea that the Celtics Starring Jayson Tatum And Jaylen Brown And Some Other Guys are therefore not on track to compete for titles — because of what Steph pulled off against them in June 2022 — is, to me, absurd.

The Celtics have been to at least the Eastern Conference Finals in five of Brown’s seven seasons. He hasn’t necessarily been the Celtics’ best player in any of those seasons. But he’s been the second best since 2019-20, and Boston’s made it to the league’s final four in three of the four seasons since then.

This isn’t to ignore the fact that boosting Brown’s salary from $32 million in 2023-24 to $52 million in 2024-25 will hamstring Brad Stevens’ ability to keep high-level talent around the two stars on the roster.