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After fighting their way back from being down 0-3 in the Eastern Conference Finals to force a deciding Game 7, the Boston Celtics didn’t reach the NBA Finals this season despite being touted as heavy favorites over the Miami Heat.
But of course, the Celtics can only look forward and hope to remain as perennial title contenders next season.
Following a major upset to the Heat, the Celtics will now head into a pivotal summer, much of which will revolve around Jaylen Brown. The 26-year old star could fetch a supermax contract extension this offseason, and the Celtics could choose whether or not to extend him.
Discussions around NBA circles express that the Celtics may be better off not extending Brown and trading him to another team following his lackluster performance in Game 7 where he shot 8-for-23 from the field for 19 points and committed eight turnovers.
As his Celtics future stands on shaky ground, one NBA GM now said that letting him go would be bad for business.
Per Heavy.com:
“I hear fans up there are debating whether to give Brown the supermax (five years, $290 million), but at some point, the numbers don’t really matter,” said one general manager. “First of all, the guy is one of the better players in the league. Start there. I know people are all upset about his last game (19 points, 1-9 on 3-pointers, eight turnovers), and sure he was bad, but that was a team-wide collapse. Just take a step back and look at where he is and what he can do. The guy can play.
But the main reason why everyone out here knows they have to get something done with him is that you can never afford to lose an asset like that. … Even if you sign him and things don’t work out with your team down the line, you have a player of value. All-Star players can attract free agents who want to play with them, or you can use your player as an asset in a trade.”
