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Jaylen Brown Discusses Whether Making an All-NBA Team Provides Clarity About His Future
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The 2022-23 campaign was the best of Jaylen Brown's career. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game, all career highs. And he swiped 1.1 steals per contest.
His individual performance and role in leading the Celtics to the best record in the NBA at its February break earned the Marietta, Georgia, native his second All-Star Game selection.
While Jayson Tatum re-wrote the record books that night, scoring 55 points, the most in the event's history, earning him All-Star Game MVP honors, Brown also shined at the league's marquee exhibition contest.
The latter led Team LeBron with 35 points. He also stuffed the stat sheet with 14 rebounds, leading all participants, five assists, and two steals.
And the NBA's top tandem squaring off was arguably the most compelling moment of this year's All-Star Game.
Brown's improved every year, including after a truncated offseason between playing in the Orlando bubble and the start of the next campaign.
Offensively, he's evolved into a mid-range assassin with improved handles and the poise to play under control. And in the playoffs, he's taking 5.3 threes per game and knocking them down at a scorching 46.9 percent clip.
At the other end of the court, his tone-setting defense against James Harden is paramount to the Celtics' wins over the Sixers in a second-round rivalry clash that will add to its rich history with a Game 7 on Sunday.
And while it's a regular-season honor, on Wednesday, Brown's ability to consistently elevate his play earned him a spot on the All-NBA Second Team.
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As previously detailed, whether or not he earned an All-NBA selection could determine how much longer he's wearing Celtic green.
Brown's latest accolade qualifies him for a five-year, $295 million veteran supermax extension. The Celtics are the only team able to offer him that contract, even if he's traded. They can, should, and presumably will do so this summer.
Had the two-time All-Star not made an All-NBA team, the most Boston could offer him is four years, $189 million. That's not enticing enough to have kept Brown from playing out his contract. If he leaves in free agency in the summer of 2024, the most he could sign for is $184 million over four years.
It seems silly to turn down a $295 million offer, and Brown could always ask out after doing so. Kevin Durant requested a trade from Brooklyn before his extension started.
But while he's the yin to Tatum's yang, the perfect complement, who consistently starts fast while the latter tends to ease into games, and who's there to elevate his play when the other's not at his best, if Brown wants to be the unquestioned top player on a team, it'll have to be elsewhere.
He's also been in trade rumors throughout his career. That includes this summer, shortly after leading the Celtics in scoring in the NBA Finals, averaging 23.5 points on the league's brightest stage.
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The Celtics could've been more proactive and vocal about shooting down the chatter of a potential deal centered around a swap of Brown and then Nets star Kevin Durant. But Brad Stevens, the team's president of basketball operations, flying to Los Angeles to assure the star wing Boston's intent is building around him and Tatum, reflects the franchise's understanding that they must prove their commitment to Brown.
So does the summer conference call between Stevens, Tatum, and Brown, and team owner Wyc Grousbeck telling the latter the Celtics weren't trading him for Durant when those rumors reignited around the All-Star break.
"I don’t know," the two-time All-Star told Logan Murdock of The Ringer regarding his future with the team in an interview earlier this season.
"As long as I’m needed," Brown continued. "It’s not up to me. We’ll see how they feel about me over time and (how) I feel about them over time. Hopefully, whatever it is, it makes sense. But I will stay where I’m wanted. I will stay where I’m needed and treated correct."
And while Brown's work toward civil rights and racial equity has earned him a place among Boston Magazine's most influential Bostonians multiple times, he's also expressed frustration with the lack of fluidity he's experienced starting a business and buying a house in the city he stars in.
It's another layer to a story that most likely sees Brown sign the veteran supermax extension to stay with the Celtics or get traded this summer.
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So, after registering 17 points, six rebounds, and four assists, and being the primary reason Harden finished with 13 points on 4/16 shooting in Boston's 95-86 Game 6 win in Philadelphia, Brown addressed whether his All-NBA selection provides clarity about his future.
"Obviously, that's a tremendous honor. But all of my focus right now is trying to help my team win and advance in the playoffs, and that's what I'm currently focused on."
Brown also shared what this honor means to him.
"It meant a lot. I put a lot of work into my craft to get better each and every year to help my team, lead my team, (and) add to winning. To get acknowledged from the world, or the basketball world is refreshing. And for that, I'm grateful."
Further Reading
Jaylen Brown Issues Challenge to Celtics Fans: 'When the Garden Gets Going, There's Nothing Like it'
Celtics Praise Joe Mazzulla for Game 6 Adjustments That Helped Save Their Season
Celtics Discuss Jayson Tatum Rising to the Occasion, Forcing a Game 7
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown Earn All-NBA Honors; Here's What That Means for Them and the Celtics
Celtics Share Their Perspective on Failing to Meet the Moment in Game 5 Loss to Sixers
Joe Mazzulla Explains Why He Didn't Take a Timeout in Celtics' Game 4 Loss to Sixers
Film Room: Recalibrating Celtics' Defense for Game 2 Against Sixers
