Jayson Tatum celebrated the 2023 Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame ceremony as a guest of inductee Dwyane Wade and the topic of Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown's contract came up after the speeches.
Boston signed Brown to a historic extension of five years and $304 million on July 25 and Tatum is thrilled for his teammate.
"Much deserved, it was a no-brainer," Tatum told Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. "So, I'm happy for him and his family. It's life-changing. It's a big deal. I'm happy we're going to have him for however much longer we've got him for. I'm happy about that."
Tatum is in line to receive his own supermax five-year extension next summer but the superstar isn't concerned with thinking about that.
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"Nah, I don't think about nothing of that," he said. "It's one day at a time."
Tatum and Brown will be entering their seventh year as teammates, but the Celtics will have a different look when they take the court for the upcoming NBA season following the trades of Marcus Smart and Grant Williams and the addition of Kristaps Porzingis.
"Yeah, I am (excited)," Tatum said of the newly revamped Celtics squad. "New year, I'm always excited for the new season. It's like a brand new opportunity. I'm excited to see what we can do and we got a couple months until we start, so I'm still going to enjoy my summer a little bit but it's almost that time."
When the new-look Celtics open their season Oct. 27, their opponent is rumored to be the Miami Heat, the same team that eliminated Boston from the postseason in May.
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The Celtics were one win away from facing the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals, but were unable to complete the comeback, falling in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals to the Heat. The year before, the Celtics handed the Heat a Game 7 loss.
It's safe to say the two clubs are bonafide rivals.
Featured image via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images