The Boston Celtics and Jaylen Brown have until Monday at 6 p.m. ET to work out a contract extension or the 22-year-old forward will become a restricted free agent in July.
Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes reported Wednesday the Celtics had offered Brown a four-year, $80 million extension but that he "is pursuing a bigger offer." Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge responded Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub, calling the report not accurate and noting "the negotiations have gone well."
Brown would become one of the top free agents available next summer if he gets to that point. The 2020 unrestricted free agent class is projected to be pretty weak, so it wouldn't be surprising if some of the RFAs are highly sought after.
The Athletic's Shams Charania reported Friday that teams around the league are watching this negotiation with an eye toward next summer.
As far as Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown and his extension talks are going, there’s one thing to keep in mind: several teams are monitoring how those discussions go, and whether they can make Boston and GM Danny Ainge pay with an offer sheet next summer, according to sources.
The Celtics would have the ability to match any offer sheet Brown receives from a rival club because he'll be an RFA.
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Boston rarely does rookie extensions, with the last one coming in 2009 when point guard Rajon Rondo signed a five-year deal. It would behoove the Celtics to wait on an extension with Brown and gather one more season of stats and analysis of his game before making a huge financial commitment to him. Brown could also make himself a ton of money, and maybe even a max contract, with a strong fourth season.
The 2016 first-round draft pick had a disappointing start last year but finished strong, and he should be more involved in the Celtics' offense this season with Kyrie Irving and Al Horford both departing over the summer in free agency. A motivated Brown playing for a new contract could be a huge boost for the Celtics as they try to bounce back from a lackluster 2018-19 campaign.
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