Getty Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics walks to the bench past head coach Joe Mazzulla.
Though the Boston Celtics have made a few major splashes this offseason, particularly the blockbuster that landed them star forward Kristaps Porzingis, still yet to be determined is the financial future of cornerstone Jaylen Brown.
Following his All-NBA 2022-23 campaign, the wing now finds himself eligible to sign a lucrative $295 million supermax extension. As of this writing, however, despite continuous negotiations, no such deal has been agreed to, though, during a July 20 sit-down with ABC News’ Lindsay Davis, Brown acknowledged that his goal is still to “run it back” with the Celtics next year.
“I just see opportunity. A lot to learn, a lot to improve on,” Brown said. “You can’t take for granted the opportunities that you get. It’s a privilege to be in a winning organization with a winning team, so it’ll be great to bring back the guys and try to go on another run.”
Negotiations between Brown and the Celtics have been ongoing during the months following their season-sealing loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat, though were recently on hold while the two-time All-Star was in Europe for an NBPA retreat.
Jaylen Brown, Celtics to Resume Negotiations
With Jaylen Brown now back in the States after attending an NBPA event out in Spain, according to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, his camp and the Celtics are expected to re-enter extension negotiations this week.
“With Jaylen Brown now back in Boston from his NBPA retreat in Spain, contract talks will resume,” Washburn wrote.
Jaylen Brown (41 PTS, 13 REB) was a FORCE on the floor in the @celtics‘ third-straight win ☘️
Jaylen Brown wrapped up his stellar 2022-23 All-NBA campaign with tremendous career-high averages of 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 49.1 percent from the field.
Blake Griffin’s Future With Celtics Uncertain
Veteran big man Blake Griffin finds himself available on the free agency market after his recent 2022-23 stint with the Celtics and, though the club still has one open roster spot available, MassLive’s Brian Robb suggests that there’s a chance Boston may not wish to fill it with a return of the 34-year-old.
“It’s been eerily quiet on the Blake Griffin front since the season ended. Brad Stevens made no mention of him in any of his press conferences, and that could be a signal the team is moving on,” Robb wrote.
Robb would, however, note in his piece that though current signs point to a reunion not coming to fruition, should they wait and find no better options to bring aboard, there’s still a chance Griffin could once again don the green and white threads.
“For now, the Celtics may want the roster flexibility to consider other additions knowing that Griffin is available as a backup plan for another true big. The team probably isn’t ready to commit guaranteed money to him though until other alternatives are ruled out,” Robb wrote.
5 threes for Blake Griffin ‼️
👀: 15 PTS, 5/7 3PM
Celtics lead 72-64 on ESPN.
Despite his low usage during his lone season with the Celtics, Blake Griffin still proved himself to be a quality contributor when called upon.
The former All-Star started 16 games on the year while serving as a plug-and-play option when fellow frontcourt members Robert Williams III and/ or Al Horford were forced to miss time and put up solid averages of 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.9 assists while shooting 52.2 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from deep in such a role.