20 Days After Marcus Smart’s Betrayal, Jayson Tatum on the Cusp of Losing 2x All-Star Celtics Teammate as $295,000,000 Talks Further Delay

It was the 17th of June last year in TD Garden. Andre Iguodala was consoling a wailing Jayson Tatum. A dream was shattered, the Golden State Warriors had won the 2022 NBA title, and the Celtics had lost Game Six on their home turf. This wasn’t the end of the rollercoaster. In 2023, history will repeat in a worse fashion. Down 0-3 against Heat, the squad almost pulled off an impossible come-from-behind series win. However, they lost game seven. There was Tatum again, dejected and inconsolable.

These disappointments have resulted in the restructuring of the squad. One of their key players may have to wait before signing a record deal.

Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics charting tricky territories

Ever since getting knocked out by the Miami Heat disappointingly, the Boston Celtics have begun looking in a different direction. Despite finishing as the second seed last season, fans haven’t liked the teams’ look in the Playoffs and are running out of patience.

In a brutal fashion, the team did away with Marcus Smart, who wanted to retire as a Celtic. After trading him to the Grizzlies, in exchange for him, the team turned to Kristaps Porzingis. 

Getting Kristaps Porzingis hasn’t done service to the Celtics’ purse. He comes with a $36 million-a-year deal, and Tatum has a deal of around $32 million per year. Meanwhile, Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White’s combined contract is around $40 million a year. The team is looking to offload Brogdon’s contract. Then comes the biggest question: what about the team’s second best-player Jaylen Brown?

Read more: “I Didn’t Even Want to Eat”: Celtics Superstar Jayson Tatum Went Through a Dark Phase When Stephen Curry’s Warriors Stole His Dream in 2022

Brown’s current salary ranges around $28 million annually. However, considering that the market is paying the likes of Fred Van Vleet more than $40 million a year, he will look for a Supermax extension. He was eligible for a five-year $295 million deal on the first of July, but the talks have been slumping. As per Boston Globe, Brown is currently on an organizational trip overseas being the NBPA’s vice president. So, talks can only resume when he returns from there.

If he gets the contract, then it can rival the contracts by Curry and Jokic. 

A deal can still take place

The deadline is October, and the organization has reiterated its stance on having the Guard back. Boston Celtics’ president of basketball operations Brad Stevens doesn’t mind the wait.

After the team’s Summer League game, he stated to a group of reporters, “We want Jaylen to be here for a long, long time and we’ve made that clear. We’re looking forward to all sitting down, and we’ve got time here. I probably shouldn’t say anything else, but I feel optimistic.”

If Brown indeed signs the $295 million contract, then one can imagine the next contracts for players rated higher than him. It can mean that we can see the superstar’s contract eclipse the $70 million a year mark sooner than later. 

Do you think Brown deserves such a contract? Do share in the comments below.

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