The start of the NBA regular season is less than a week away, and that means the deadline to sign fourth-year players to a rookie extension is also fast approaching.
The much-maligned 2016 draft class has only inked three extensions thus far, and Chris Haynes reports that only one more deal appears likely to happen before the Oct. 21 deadline. That contract does not have Jaylen Brown’s name on it; Brown and the Celtics are still reportedly working on a number that would secure his future in Boston.
The Celtics are reportedly offering four years and $80 million, about half of the total money that a maximum extension would guarantee Brown. The Boston wing unsurprisingly wants more, but it’s unclear how much more, and whether or not there is a way to meet in the middle. The Celtics have set the starting point right around Brown’s cap hold and their historic fastidiousness at preserving their cap space suggests they’d rather wait until next season to give Brown a larger deal.
Even if the current offer is arguably a fair valuation of how Brown has performed thus far in his NBA career, it can be interpreted as giving the impression that Boston doesn’t consider Brown to be a franchise player going forward. Those players get max or near-max contracts, even when they’re not the best player on the team (see: Jamal Murray).
The best bet was always that Boston wouldn’t commit to an extension — as Haynes reports, they haven’t agreed to one in 10 years since Rajon Rondo. Brown’s case is also tricky given the dramatic retooling of the team’s roster over the offseason. However, the Celtics have to hope that the lingering uncertainty over Brown’s upcoming restricted free agency doesn’t cloud its season like Kyrie Irving’s free agency did one year ago.
