Jaylen Brown was referred to as a franchise pillar when head coach Ime Udoka took over for the Boston Celtics last offseason.
Franchise pillars tend to spend their entire career, or at least the majority of them, with said franchise.
But it’s worth noting, especially with Brown reportedly involved in trade rumors for Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant on Monday, how Brown is tied to the franchise for just two more seasons. The Celtics do not have Brown under team control when he likely is to reach the peak of his prime.
Brown, who signed a very reasonable four-year, $106.3 million contract with the Celtics which went into effect before the 2020-21 campaign, is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2023-24 season. He will be able to choose where he wants to play entering his age-28 season, and Boston very well could have nothing to say about it.
Brown currently is among the best values in the league. The one-time NBA All-Star, who was a pivotal piece as the Celtics reached the NBA Finals this summer, is owed approximately $55.2 million over his next two seasons. He will have a $26.7 million base salary entering the upcoming 2022-23 season before that number jumps to a $28.5 base salary in the final year of his contract. In a league where contracts are stretching from $40 million to $60 million — Durant will be owed $53 million during his age-37 season — the two-way Brown is a bargain.
But Brown’s ties to Celtics, from a contract perspective, are not long term.
Perhaps that’s why the Celtics now find themselves in full pursuit of Durant. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania each reported Monday how Boston was among the teams making offers for the Nets superstar, who requested a trade from Brooklyn last month. Charnia reported how Brown was involved in one offer, but the Nets ultimately ruled the package insufficient.
Only time will tell whether that remains to be the case, but Brown’s long-term possibility to sign elsewhere certainly contributes to the Celtics reported interest.
