Jaylen Brown created some worry in the Celtics fan base when he didn’t commit to his future in Boston, and his follow-up comments might alleviate those fears.
The C’s picked up a win over the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday to close out their road trip. Boston aimed to make a “statement” in the matchup, but Brown’s future with the team was a topic of conversation postgame.
The 26-year-old All-Star will be a free agent after the 2023-24 season, so president of basketball operations Brad Stevens likely would want to get ahead of an extension after this season.
Brown was uncommitted on his future in Boston in a feature piece on The Ringer, but he had other things he was focused on.
“I feel great, on a 50-win team right now, which can’t take for granted (Tuesday) was the 50th win,” Brown told reporters, per video from NBC Sports Boston. “Right now, I’m focused on helping lead my team for another playoff run. In terms of speculation etc., I can’t speculate on anything above what I’m doing right now.
“I think sometimes when people write articles, they get taken out of context at times, especially when writers have agendas or whatever. For me personally, thinking about clarifying things that have been recently said. But other than that, I’m focused on my team. I’m focused on playing basketball and focused on winning games.”
On if he wanted to clarify anything Tuesday, Brown added: “Nothing right now. The only thing I want to clarify is that the Celtics need to play better and win more games. If I want to say something in the future about the kind of things that’s been floating around, I will.
“But in terms of right now, I like when people hear things from the horse’s mouth and you can see my reaction, and my face and everything how I feel about what I’m saying. Sometimes those things can get lost in translation. If I feel the need to do so, I will. I keep constant communication with my teammates and organization. And we have to have everybody on board if we’re going to do things that we say we’re going to do. Right now, I’m focused on that.”
It’s difficult to decipher what “context” Brown is referring to in regard to a direct quote. The Ringer feature did aim to highlight the seventh-year guard’s struggles to create a legacy on and off the court, so there certainly was a specific “agenda” that was addressed.
Brown’s future contract will be determined by whether he makes one of the three All-NBA teams. If he does, he’ll be eligible for the supermax extension, and Boston can offer Brown up to 35% of the salary cap. If he doesn’t he could opt for a richer deal with another team, which likely would reignite trade rumors around the All-Star guard.
