Lost in the excitement surrounding the release of the NBA's 2019-20 regular season schedule earlier this week was the deadline for teams to sign players who are eligible for rookie extensions, and it's an important date for the Boston Celtics.
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, who Boston selected No. 3 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, is eligible for an extension as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. ESPN's Bobby Marks tweeted Monday that Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. ET is the deadline for Brown and other extension eligible players to finalize a new contract.
If Brown and the Celtics don't work out a deal before Oct. 16, they won't be able to finalize anything until after the 2019-20 season. Brown is able to become a restricted free agent next summer if he has no deal in place before the start of free agency. Boston, however, must extend Brown a qualifying offer for him to get RFA status.
Brown told the Boston Sports Journal in July that he hadn't heard from the C's regarding a new contract.
It might actually be in both parties' interest to wait until after the upcoming campaign to work out an extension.
For Brown, a stellar fourth season would increase his chances of maximizing his earnings potential. He didn't have a strong 2018-19 season, although he recovered nicely from a slow start and was one of Boston's better players after the All-Star break and in the NBA playoffs. The 22-year-old forward averaged 13 points and 4.2 rebounds on 46.5 percent shooting last year. Brown has shown flashes of stardom throughout his career, but he hasn't yet been able to play at, or near that level on a consistent basis.
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From the Celtics' perspective, it would behoove them to gather another year of statistics and observation of Brown before deciding if he's a player worth committing a ton of money going forward.
Only a couple of players from Brown's draft class have already signed extensions, including Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons (No. 1 pick) and Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (No. 7 pick).
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