The Boston Celtics might have to back up the Brink’s trucks for one of their star players pretty soon, one former NBA executive points out.
Former Brooklyn Nets assistant general manager and ESPN NBA insider Bobby Marks revealed Tatum’s eligibility potential — detailing what the five-year veteran would need to accomplish in order to position himself for his biggest payday yet.
If Tatum earns All-NBA honors in the 2022-23 season — which he did so successfully last season — the 24-year-old will be eligible to earn a supermax contract extension worth $298M through five seasons. However, Tatum will have to wait until the 2024 offseason in order to meet eligibility due to the NBA’s years of service criteria.
In 2016, the NBA introduced the “supermax” extension, devised to assist teams in retaining their star players as opposed to losing them in free agency.
Last season, Tatum earned his third consecutive NBA All-Star appearance, also leading the Celtics in both points (26.9) and free-throw percentage (85.3%) — a career-high in scoring for Tatum.
Year five for Tatum was most notably highlighted by Boston’s appearance in the NBA Finals after undergoing a pair of game sevens against the third-seeded Milwaukee Bucks and first-seeded Miami Heat in back-to-back series.
Throughout the playoffs (24 games), Tatum averaged 25.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 41 minutes per game — shooting 42.6% from the field, 39.3% from three, and 80% from the line.
Tatum is currently in year two of a five-year contract worth $163M with a fifth-year player option worth over $37M in 2025.
