The Celtics knew they were caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place as they assessed their future with Jaylen Brown. The 2016 third overall pick had just come off a sterling season in which he normed career highs in just about every significant statistical category en route to helping steer the Celtics to a conference finals berth. It was the fifth time in his seven pro seasons that they did battle for the East crown, and yet disappointment accompanied their playoff finish. After coming to within two games of taking home the Larry O’Brien Trophy in 2022, they figured on finally going all the way with essentially the same roster; instead, they flubbed their return to the National Basketball Association Finals with an up-and-down showing in the rubber match against the supposedly overmatched Heat.
Through it all, there can be no doubting Brown’s contributions. He formed the second part of the Jay two-step with acknowledged top dog Jayson Tatum , and he was essential to their progress. On the other hand, he was likewise partly — or, from the vantage point of his myriad critics, mostly — responsible for their inability to meet expectations. While his strengths are easily identifiable, so, too, are his weaknesses. In juxtaposition with his evident progress as a scorer is his apparent failure to go left and take care of the ball. Meanwhile, he improved on his defense, but remained iffy with his on-ball coverage.
Taking into consideration all aspects of Brown’s skill set, limitations included, the Celtics ostensibly realized they could not afford to take the risk of seeing him leave for nothing next year. And so they signed him to an extension, in and of itself a logical move. Unfortunately, the numbers have come as a shock even to his fans; in inking a five-year supermax contract worth a whopping $304 million, he has become the league’s highest-paid player. Heck, he will be paid even more than reigning Finals Most Valuable Player awardee Nikola Jokic, never mind that he’s not even the Number One option with his own team.
Needless to say, the Celtics overpaid in order to keep Brown in the fold. That said, it’s clear that they’re high on his capacity to justify the decision; at 27, he’s approaching his prime, and he may yet continue to build on his talent to the point where his paycheck becomes a bargain. Until then, though, they’ll be under scrutiny for allowing themselves to hit the second apron of the luxury tax and absorb the punitive financial and administrative penalties that come with it. It’s always a gamble to project achievements, and then compute for their net present value.
In other words, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The Celtics could have cut their losses by dealing Brown, but they leaned to the other extreme and went all in — as clear an indication as any that they like their odds. True, he will soon be joined in the salary stratosphere by others benefiting, literally and figuratively, from good fortune. Until the green and white claim the hardware, though, they should expect to be second-guessed. After all, their luck hasn’t been the best of late, and there are any number of permutations that will see them throwing good money over bad in the end.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
