At Long Last, Jaylen Brown Has Finally Signed His Supermax Extension Which Is The Richest Deal In NBA History

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I mean listen, the second it was announced that Jaylen Brown was going to make an All NBA team I'm pretty sure every Celtics fan on the planet assumed that as soon as the clock hit midnight on July 1st that we'd get the supermax Woj/Shams bomb. I mean what was there to figure out? Nobody turns down supermax money, the team had said for weeks that they were prepared to offer Jaylen supermax money, it all seemed like a formality.

Then it didn't happen right away. OK, no need to panic, these things I guess take time. 

Then more time went by. We kept hearing things were positive and there was no need to worry, but in reality nothing was signed.

Then even more time went by. At this point, while you may still have had confidence that a deal would get done, it was a little weird. Was Jaylen holding out for something? Were they maybe working on separate deals that would bring in talent if it meant Jaylen would take less? 

Then we learned that things were being put on pause while Jaylen went overseas for a NBAPA event. OK fine. Still a little unnerving though.

And now, finally, at long last, the deal is done. 

Jaylen Brown, an All NBA forward who is about to enter his NBA prime years after just having the best season of his career is signed long term to the richest contract in NBA history. I'm sure that will get a lot of headlines because yeah, it's a fuck ton of money, but the thing is all that signifies is timing. Jaylen's going to have the richest contract in NBA history until 

checks notes

this upcoming summer. The horror! It's like when a QB signs a new deal and they become the richest QB ever until the next one. I can't imagine possibly caring about that. If you plan on yelling at me about how much of an overpay this is…well…

I get it, Jaylen had a horrific ECF. Easily the worst series of his career. That Game 7 performance? Insulting. He and the entire franchise should be extremely embarrassed for how things transpired. But you know what Brad Stevens doesn't do? He doesn't overreact to one game or one series. He's not a moron. 

Of course, now I imagine we're going to hear about how the Celts are screwed and won't be able to build a team. To that I say, again, Brad Stevens is not a moron. Mike Zarren is not a moron. You're naive if you don't think they were always prepared to offer Jaylen this money and how they would then have to navigate their roster. This supermax money doesn't kick in until next summer, looking at their cap sheet, things are most certainly not a disaster

Worry about 2 years from now in 2 years. Do you know how much can happen in the NBA in 2-3 years? In my opinion there is no reason to be upset in 2023 about what could happen in 2025-26. We might all be dead for all we know. I could care less about how much this extension was. Having Jaylen Brown on your team paired with Jayson Tatum is better than not having Jaylen Brown on your team. It's not my money so why should I give a shit? I'm sorry if this upsets you, but this guy is pretty damn good

Now let's talk about the details (as we know them).

Fully guaranteed isn't a surprise. Welcome to NBA contracts. There were reports that what was taking so long was the negotiation around a trade kicker or a player option, and we now have our answer. Brad caved on the trade kicker, but held out on the player option. That feels like a good compromise for everyone.

For a guy like Jaylen who always seems to be thrown in trade rumors, the trade kicker does give him a little protection there. While not impossible and he could certainly decide to waive it, that does show him that the team does truly believe in him to the point where they're willing to make his contract seem unattractive to others once you factor in that kicker. That's a level of security Jaylen has never had before. Remember, the Celts got Jaylen on a sweet ass deal the first time around, so you knew they were going to have to bend the knee somewhat this time around, both in terms of money and add ons.

Now look, we do have to talk about the other side of this coin. Given the world we live in, signing a supermax extension does not guarantee that Jaylen is going to be a Celtic for all 5 of these years. For all we know if they don't win a title in the next 2-3, he could be moved. Hell, he could still demand a trade if things go south. Look at what Dame is doing with 4 years left on his deal. You just never know in today's NBA.

But that's a future problem. In the present, this rules. The fact of the matter is the Celtics had no way of replacing Jaylen given the tools/money they have to work with, and at the very least you protect the asset. It also doesn't hurt that the player is really fucking good, and now the Celts can enter the season with zero drama regarding how Jaylen is perceived by the franchise. If this doesn't make it crystal clear, nothing will.

I'm sure more details will come out over the next few hours, and I'm interested to see how they structured the yearly salary. Maybe they were cool going to that high of a number because of how they plan on spreading it out. Who knows. What matters is the deal is done and Jaylen Brown (for the moment) is going to remain a Celtic for years to come. 

Now comes the hard part and actually winning the whole thing. The Celts certainly don't have any excuse not to, that's for sure.