76ers Rival Report: Will Celtics Extend Jaylen Brown This Summer?

Will there be a Jaylen Brown extension this offseason?

This summer, the Boston Celtics are expected to make a critical decision for their franchise as the veteran All-Star Jaylen Brown is eligible for an extension. Despite being a rumored trade prospect in the past, the Celtics are expected to make an important call on Brown’s long-term future sometime soon.

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Eastern Conference rivals have currently put any extension discussions on hold. While that’s typically a bad sign, that isn’t the case in this situation. 

Handling Players’ Association business, Brown is leaving the country for a bit. While he’s out of town, the Celtics and Brown’s representatives have decided it would be best to pause extension discussions. They plan to resume as soon as the All-Star is back.

And when Brown returns, the Celtics seem likely to ink Brown to the most expensive contract in NBA history at this time, according to Wojnarowski. 

“This is a deal that would be the richest contract in NBA history,” said the NBA Insider. “It could be worth up to $304 million. In the final year of that deal, Brown will be making $70 million.” Wojnarowski also added that the Celtics and Brown will continue to talk and have a lot of “runway” this summer to get to a deal.

Boston isn’t going to run it back with the same squad next year, as they’ve made some key changes already. Their most notable moves involved cutting ties with Grant Williams and acquiring Kristaps Porzingis. While the Celtics don’t intend to run it back with the same supporting cast, the core dup of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will likely stay intact for many seasons ahead.

As long as Tatum and Brown are in the building, the Celtics will remain a threat in the Eastern Conference. Just two seasons ago, the Celtics were crowned Eastern Conference Champions before battling and coming up short against the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals.

Last year, Boston completed the regular season, placed second in the East behind the Milwaukee Bucks. After taking down the Atlanta Hawks in the first round, the Sixers and the Celtics battled it out for seven games in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. While Boston lost to the Miami Heat, who made an improbable run to the NBA Finals, the Celtics are likely to be in the postseason picture once again next year.