The Boston Celtics have some important roster decisions to make this summer, and at the top of that list is the future of Jaylen Brown.
The All-Star guard is coming off his best season as an NBA player. He set career highs by averaging 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, while also shooting a career-best 49.1 percent from the field.
Brown was selected to the All-Star Game for the second time and was voted onto the All-NBA second team.
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By making one of the three all-NBA teams, Brown is eligible to sign a supermax contract extension ($295 million over five years) beginning this offseason.
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was asked during his end-of-the-season press conference Thursday if he plans on offering Brown an extension this summer.
"I've had nothing but great conversations with Jaylen, but we can't talk about all that stuff," Stevens said. "I'm not allowed to talk about the contract details, let alone the extension because it's not of that time yet right now. His window is between July 1 and October or whatever it is.
"But I can say without a doubt that we want Jaylen to be here. He's a big part of us. We believe in him. I'm thankful for him. I'm really thankful for when those guys (Jayson Tatum and Brown) have success, they come back to work. And when they get beat, they own it and come back to work. I know that's what they're about, and that's hard to find. Kinda like what I talked about with leadership earlier. Those qualities aren't for everyone. Jaylen had a great year, All-NBA year and he's a big part of us moving forward in our eyes."
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Brown had a frustrating end to the season with a lackluster performance against the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. He shot 8-for-23 and committed eight turnovers as the Heat ended Boston's season with a 104-83 win at TD Garden.
But let's remember a few things.
Brown is a second-team All-NBA player and still just 26 years old. He has plenty of room for improvement, too, in areas such as playmaking, ball-handling, 3-point shooting, etc. He has the potential to be a very good defender. His defense wasn't as consistent in the playoffs, but the talent and effort on that side of the ball is there. Brown also is super athletic and plays a premium position in today's NBA.
Sure, $300 million is a lot of money to give any player. But these kinds of contracts are going to become the standard for star players going forward. The Celtics have one of the best duos in the NBA in Tatum and Brown, and neither player has hit the peak of their prime yet. Keeping them together is the best decision the franchise can make.