Jaylen Brown is going nowhere
A lot has been made about the interview from the Ringer this week with Jaylen Brown. Specifically this quote.
I’ll admit when I first read that I though he was as good as gone. The writing has been on the wall for Jaylen to be a flight risk for over a year. He’s been in constant trade rumors and is in the shadow of Jayson Tatum while out playing him since the All- Star break not to mention in the Finals last year.
The reason I say he is going no where is three fold.
Money.
If Jaylen can land on an ALL NBA team this year of next he becomes eligible for the Super Max contract. About $280 million which is roughly $80 million more than he can get on the market. Even if he doesn’t make an ALL NBA team the Celtics can still offer an extra year as a Free Agent. The other piece to keep your eye on is the next CBA negotiation.
Right now player’s extensions are not worth nearly what a free agency deal would be worth for players like Jaylen Brown. For competitive balance the league should look to adjust this so that a team can extend a player for the same amount they would be eligible for in Free Agency only a year earlier. It promotes players staying with the team they were drafted by, e.i competitive balance because who the fuck wants to play for the Timberwolves. Jaylen is a V.P. for the players union. If he were to negotiate that clause it would go a long way for him to be one of the first to take advantage of it.
Jaylen’s a different kind of cat.
If anyone thinks they can pin point what Jaylen Brown is thinking at any given time you’re crazy. Dude is smart as hell and thorough in his mental deliberation. Dare I call him “mercurial”? He has basically defended Kyrie at every turn, which is a story for another day. I’m just saying from a practical stand point there are plenty of reasons for Brown to stay in Boston. Championship roster, invested owners, more money, loyal (but I guess toxic) fan base. If the main reason he would leave is to prove he can be “the guy” with another franchise I would hope he’d use that big brain of his to look at the track records of guys who went down that path and realize his best path for the most success, money, impact, legacy would be to stick with Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics.
Not to mention in his last press conference he basically came out and said the interview was taken of of context and he’s not really thinking about the future, blah, blah blah. What we’ve learned from the Kyrie saga is what is said now means shitiola later.
The Boston Celtics
Lets get the ugly out of the way first. Boston has been under attack in recent years from a good handful of NBA players. Almost exclusively around the idea that the city is racist. The trope even landed on LeBron’s lips. Ya know, the part owner of the Boston Red Sox, LeBron James. As soon as LeBron said he hated playing the Celtics because Boston is racist I knew that this was indeed a bit of a trope that picked up steam with in the NBA community. Why? Because LeBron is more full of shit than a Manure factory. Find me an original thought he has had. I’ll wait.
That being said, of course Boston is racist. I won’t play the “that happens in every city” card, but that shit happens in every city. There are shitty people every where and there are nothing but shitty people on the internet. This is and has always been the give and take with Boston as a sports city. When you play hard and lose we support you. When you win we celebrate you. When you play hard and win we enshrine you into the city lore. When you don’t perform to your potential because of lack of effort oh boy do we let you hear it. But, hears the deal. If anyone else tries to shit on you we will tear down their homes and burn their village to the ground. Only we get to fuck with ours. Violently loyal is this group of people who admittedly take all this shit too seriously. Which is why generally only the uber comparative or meticulously cerebral athletes stick around.
And Jesus Christ! Of the major sports teams in town the Celtics fans are some of the most delusional supportive group of people alive. You want to focus on the shit bags amongst us or can’t handle the criticism that comes with underachieving ? Play for Atlanta where no one gives a shit about you.
The point I’m trying to make is The Celtics I believe are bigger than that. And if Jaylen wants to tap into that huge brain of his he would recognize a franchise that has stood on the right side of Social Justice from it’s inception. Red and Bill Russell, ever heard of em? Can the Celtics prove their worth to Jaylen and make him believe he is wanted and “needed”? Can they prove they are worthy of everything Jaylen wants to stand for?
I believe they certainly are a franchise that tries to be on the leading edge of those subjects. If that’s an important piece to Jaylen Brown’s decision than the Celtics should remain at the top of his list of places to be.
Plus, how much does on the court matter? The Celtics are primed to be a top team in the east for 10 years if Brown sticks around. Wyc and the owners have pledged to pay the tax as long as the team is Championship worthy. They proved that in the KG era. Brown and Tatum could and should look to rival what Steph and Klay built in Golden State. It’s what Danny started to build and Brad has pushed along. This is championship roster, playing for an organization focused on winning Championships, in a town that only accepts Championships. As a competitor what more do you want?
LeBron’s NBA has been one of Player Empowerment and player movement. It has been good for the league. Shit, great for the league. Tons of drama, lots of action, and it has given the players more of an even playing field. However, I feel a transition coming along. I hear players talking a different way. I hear younger guys dismissing the idea of load management and trying to link up with other starts. Maybe it’s because they are coming into an NBA where the privileges they are dismissing have already been fought for? Maybe it’s the Steph impact? As big of an impact as Lebron had the dude is like 40 fucking years old. The rookies coming into the league are Steph guys right? Who knows. I’m just saying I would not expect to see the movement of players like Kevin Durant or Lebron and that bodes well for keeping Jaylen Brown in Boston.