Jaylen Brown Details How Supermax Negotiations Went With Celtics

There was growing trepidation with each passing day in July that something was amiss with Jaylen Brown’s supermax contract negotiations with the Boston Celtics.

Teams and star players in these type of situations usually come to an agreement at first chance, but after more than three weeks of being eligible to sign a massive extension, no news of one surfaced from Brown or the Celtics.

But any speculated tension between the two sides was put to rest Tuesday when Brown landed a five-year extension with the Celtics that will pay him an eye-popping $304 million over the course of the contract.

And Brown didn’t have any bad feelings toward how the negotiations went, especially now that he’s the highest paid player in NBA history.

“I think it went great,” Brown told reporters during Wednesday’s press conference, per NBC Sports Boston coverage. “A lot of time when you talk about a relationship that you have with individuals you can just talk to them normally and direct because I’ve known these guys for seven-plus years. And a lot of times when financial stuff kind of gets into play, it gets a little bit more sensitive or etc.

“But I thought from my standpoint, they understood where I came from. Understood where we came from. And it was all about meeting in a place where it made sense for everybody. And I’m glad that we were able to finish it and get everything done. To be able to have the community here at the same time, I think the storyline writes itself.”

Brown elected to have the official announcement of his extension take place at his 7uice Bridge Program at MIT, which helps minority high school students become more engaged with science and technology.

“I think we’d probably all (would have) like to get the deal done a little bit early.”

Jaylen Brown

And holding his press conference there and not at the team facility, Brown saw it all as perfect timing.

“I think it kind of just happened to fall like that,” Brown said. “I think we’d probably all (would have) like to get the deal done a little bit early, but this is the day it fell on and I knew I was going to be here, spending most of my time. I thought it was fitting. I thought it kind of fell together like that. … For it to be here, I think it was just divine timing.”

Brown has delved deep into off-the-court initiatives since the Celtics drafted him third overall in the 2016 NBA Draft. Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck said Brown’s social justice work was a “big part” of the negotiations and they spent “serious time” discussing it Sunday.

Grousbeck not only values what Brown brings to the community, but what he also brings to the court. The 26-year-old turned in a career season during the 2022-23 campaign, notching 26.6 points per game on 49.1% shooting from the field to earn All-NBA honors and set up this opportunity.

And Grousbeck continues to envision Brown as a pillar of the Celtics with the organization still chasing after Banner 18.

“In terms of having Jaylen here, and I speak for the front office, teammates and fans — I speak for everybody — he’s a key,” Grousbeck said. “Jaylen stood tall for seven years here, improving to my mind every single year with hard work and true talent and intensity. We want to go win on the basketball court as well. It is entertainment. It is the fun part of the job. There’s a lot more work to do than just that. But we intend to go do that.

“And having our All-NBA Jaylen Brown here enthusiastically ready to build and ready to grow from here, off the court and on the court, it’s a great day for the Boston Celtics.”