While this offseason did not feature as many big names in free agency as recent seasons — or, at least, names that would be leaving their current teams — it did see some budding stars come eligible for extensions. On Sunday, two of those extensions became done deals as the Utah Jazz locked up Donovan Mitchell on a 5-year max, worth $163 million now and up to $195 million if he makes All-NBA next season, and fellow Class of 2017 member Jayson Tatum got the same max deal done with the Boston Celtics, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Tatum gets the full designated rookie max extension, with the All-NBA escalators that'll take it near $200M, sources said. Tatum's agent Jeff Wechsler and Celtics finalized details today. https://t.co/SfGjPRc3J5
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 22, 2020
The biggest news of the deal comes from ex-Suns GM Ryan McDonough, who reports the deal includes a player option on the final year.
https://twitter.com/McDNBA/status/1330632914871042048
It comes as no surprise that Tatum and the Celitcs would come to such an agreement, as he is the current and future face of the franchise. Tatum averaged 23.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game last season, all of which were career highs as he became the primary option on offense with Kyrie Irving gone and responded with strong efficiency and production. The Celtics are banking on Tatum and Jaylen Brown, who they signed to a 4-year, $115 million extension a year ago, to be cornerstones for the future, but also to help them contend now in the East.
This offseason hasn’t gone quite according to plan for Boston, as they’ve shuffled up their roster around the edges, bringing in the likes of Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague, while seeing Gordon Hayward walk to Charlotte on a huge deal without being able to execute a sign-and-trade. Still, while the Celtics may have had bigger plans, locking up Tatum long-term was top priority and they got that done.
