It’s been 10 days since Jaylen Brown first became eligible to sign a five-year supermax extension with the Celtics, but there has still been no deal as of Tuesday morning.
Multiple reports indicate that the deal is still expected to get done, but we’re learning a little bit more about what some of the holdups might be.
Citing a former NBA general manager, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe reported on Monday that the delay is “most likely over a fifth-year player option and/or a potential no-trade clause.” Himmelsbach goes on to clarify that Brown is not actually eligible for a no-trade clause this summer, but that it could be a trade kicker that would force the Celtics to pay him a bonus if they traded him.
Himmelsbach also notes that Tatum got a fifth-year player option in 2020 and that Brown “views himself as Tatum’s equal rather than his sidekick,” hence why he probably wants some of the same clauses in his contract.
While Brown and the Celtics could ultimately resolve this current contract haggling soon, The Greg Hill Show’s Courtney Cox doesn’t like the sound of Himmelsbach’s report and thinks the way Brown views himself could become a bigger problem in the years to come. (Listen to Courtney’s lead at the 34:35 mark in the player below.)
“Brown views himself, according to Adam, as an equal with Tatum. So, that’s why he’s holding out. He wants the same exact thing that Tatum has,” Courtney said. “This kills me to say, but this is going to be a major problem going forward.
“Now we don’t even have to worry about whether they can play together on the court, but it’s going to be tit-for-tat with these two moving forward, and now I wonder if this is going to be a no-go with these two on the same team. … It kills me to say this, but as soon as I saw this report – you cannot have Jaylen Brown expecting the same treatment every single time as Jayson Tatum.”
Greg Hill and Jermaine Wiggins both agreed.
“Spot on, Courtney. He’s not the same player,” Greg said.
“Sounds like somebody said that before,” Wiggy chimed in, referencing his long-held concerns about how Tatum and Brown fit together.
Does Brown have to accept being the two to Tatum’s one if this duo is ever going to win a championship? Guess we’ll find out in the years to come if and when Brown and the Celtics finalize a new contract.
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