How Stephen A. Smith Reacted To Jaylen Brown’s Massive Celtics Contract

Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics agreed to a five-year supermax contract worth up to $304 million Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Marc Spears.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reacted to what currently is league’s richest contract, while also mentioning another Celtics star in Jayson Tatum.

“First of all, I’m happy for Jaylen Brown. He’s a good brother, conscientious, a star in this league, can flat out ball. But the first thing I thought about when I saw that deal is lord have mercy what is Jayson Tatum gonna get?” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take.”

“Because Jaylen Brown, for all that he is, the one thing he is not is the best player on the Boston Celtics. That would be Jayson Tatum. And so if the Celtics were willing to pay $304 million over the next five years to keep Jaylen Brown, just imagine what they’re gonna be willing to pay to keep Jayson Tatum because let me tell you something, it’s gonna be more than $304 million.”

Smith went on to discuss some of Brown’s playoff performances and describe characteristics he sees in the guard.

“Jaylen Brown, I’m not going to crucify him the way other people have in terms of how he played in the closeout game in the playoffs in Game 7 against Miami,” Smith said. “So you have your ups, you have your downs, but he works hard. He shows up all the time. He’s a star in this league. He plays both ends of the floor. He doesn’t cheat the game. He shows up in the lineup, doesn’t engage in the load management and all this other stuff.”

Smith further went on to talk about the young Celtics core with Tatum and Brown.

“You’re talking about a young nucleus in place that’s got a decade left in their game. This makes perfect sense because, again, you not only get paid for your level of production, but the projection of what your production will be down the line.”

“You’re talking about a young nucleus in place that’s got a decade left in their game.”

Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s “First Take”

It seems like Smith is in favor of the reported contract and also eager to see how much Tatum could make in the future.