Jaylen Brown and the Celtics fell short of reaching the NBA Finals in consecutive seasons with their loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals. Immediately following the game, fans turned their attention to his long term future with the team. The 26-year-old star is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the 2023-24 NBA season. There is a lot of speculation about his future with reports linking him back to his hometown team the Atlanta Hawks. He refused to directly answer any questions about his future but left fans with a lot of uncertainty.
Post Game Questions Left Unanswered
Brown had one of his worst playoff performances in his seven year career. He went 8-of-23 from the field, 1-of-9 from the three-point line, and had eight turnovers. He finished with 19 points in the 103-84 loss. It came as a disappointment because the team relied on him heavily after Jayson Tatum became hobbled early in the first quarter with an ankle injury.
“Just a terrible game when my team needed me most,” Brown said to reporters after the game. “JT hurt his ankle first play of the game and you could see it swelling up on him. He couldn’t move out there. It was tough on him. My team turned to me to make plays and I came up short.”
The Celtics’ 84 points scored in Game 7 was their lowest scored all postseason, and Brown had a simple message to the fans.
“We failed. I failed. We let the whole city down,” Brown said.
Of course, reporters had to ask Brown about his future plans with the team.
“I expected to win today and move on,” Brown said. “That’s what my focus is on, that’s what my focus has been on. We failed, I failed, and it’s hard to think about anything else right now. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Brown could possibly see a new deal just shy of $300 million. According to Sporting News, the Celtics could offer an extension worth $290 million with Brown scheduled to make over $60 million a year in the last two years of the deal.
New Destination
Fans were quickly to point out Brown’s postgame attire during his press conference. He was spotted wearing an Atlanta Braves hat that was turned backward. The Hawks connection quickly had fans jumping to the conclusions he would be taking his talents to Atlanta.
The Celtics have the resources to offer Brown an extension but it would put a real strain on their salary cap for the future. Tatum is scheduled to an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season, along with Robert Williams and Marcus Smart. Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White will become unrestricted free agents after the 2024-25 season.
Those six players, including Brown, make up the Celtics’ core. If they were to let Brown walk then it could save their pockets but replacing him would be the issue.
The Celtics have only one draft pick in the 2023 NBA draft. They also have Grant Williams, J.D. Davison, Danilo Gallinari, Mike Muscala, and Blake Griffin. Some of those players like Gallinari and Griffin are probably not apart of their long-term future but Davison could be. He is a 20-year-old guard that spent most of his time in the NBA G-League this season but showed flashes during his one year at Alabama.
NBA reporter Kevin O’Connor proposed two trades between the Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers that could work for both sides. The first one included a deal for Brown and Damian Lillard. The second trade included Anfernee Simons and the Trail Blazers’ third pick in this year’s draft for Brown.
Brown would have to agree on both deals, but that would be hard to sell with him going to a team that is more than just a piece or two away. The Trail Blazers last made the playoffs in 2021 and their young core is not strong enough to convince a star to take that type of risk in their prime.
For now it is all speculation, and senior ESPN reporter Brian Windhorst insists the Celtics and Brown could reach a long-term deal.
“I would be stunned,” Windhorst said of a possible Brown trade on the latest “Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective” podcast. “In talking to people on both sides, I think there’s a very good chance they’re gonna find ground on that [extension].”
