Jaylen Brown's next contract floor is set!

[TDurden]

https://www.denverpost.com/2019/07/24/nuggets-jamal-murray-contract-extension/

Jamal Murray was drafted 7th in the 2016 NBA draft (4 spots after Brown)

He's reportedly signed a 4 year 170 million dollar extension with the Nuggets.

This is now most likely the floor for what Jaylen Brown will be asking for.  I'm not looking forward at all to listening to Celtics fans simultaneously argue that Brown was/is a better pick than Murray and deserves less money to stay. 

[DefenseWinsChamps]

His floor then also happens to be his ceiling, as that is the max they could offer him.

[NKY fan]

I thought it’s a 5 years contract for Murray not 4

[jambr380]

I thought it’s a 5 years contract for Murray not 4

Don't worry, it is.

His floor then also happens to be his ceiling, as that is the max they could offer him.

Yep, kind-of hard to say something is a floor when you literally can't go a penny higher than that contract. I am not sure why the Nuggets jumped the gun so early (we've known about this for weeks), but they are apparently all-in on Murray.

[Fafnir]

They believe in Murray. They also didn't want him to get potentially get a 3 + 1 deal in RFA, prefer to have him locked in for 5 years.

[slamtheking]

They believe in Murray. They also didn't want him to get potentially get a 3 + 1 deal in RFA, prefer to have him locked in for 5 years.

not a bad idea on their part.  wondering if Danny's thinking along those lines for Jaylen and subsequently Jayson.

[PhoSita]

That's what Jaylen will be asking for (as it's the most he could get, as DWC points out), but I don't know if that's the floor of what he will get.

Like Murray, Jaylen has shown flashes.  I think Jaylen is going to have to show that he can carry a larger offensive load over the course of the regular season.  If Jaylen is simply a 14-15 ppg scorer with solid-not-great efficiency and good-not-great defense, he would probably be overpaid if gets what Murray got.


On the other hand, if Jaylen is more like a 18-20 ppg scorer with solid efficiency and good multi-position defense, he's probably worth the money.

[Fan from VT]

Yeah, hed need a leap to justify that IMO. Last year he was a 13/4.2/1.4 on .465/.344/.529 shooting. Murray was a 18.2/4.2/4.8 on .437/.467/.848 shooting. He is one year younger as well.

Jaylen has potential to be a great defender, but it is not a given. Unless he shows more i wouldnt offer him max money at this point. And i think we are past the point where draft spot matters for negotiating future contracts.

[jambr380]

They believe in Murray. They also didn't want him to get potentially get a 3 + 1 deal in RFA, prefer to have him locked in for 5 years.

not a bad idea on their part.  wondering if Danny's thinking along those lines for Jaylen and subsequently Jayson.

It's not a bad idea, but it hasn't always worked out for other teams (see Andrew Wiggins). They must truly believe in him as a player.

Also, I keep seeing, 'if they don't lock up X for an extension now, they may only be able to secure him for 3 years.' While this is technically true, if Murray played out the year and proved himself worthy of a 5-yr max contract (with 8% raises), it is highly unlikely he turns that down just to sign a 3+1 offer sheet with another team (since the Nuggets would just match). That seems like a very costly decision that a player would only do out of spite. And 3 years is a long time - if that player still despises the franchise in 2 years, you trade him for a solid package.

Because Jaylen isn't a slam dunk at this point, I see no way the Cs give him the 5-yr max extension now. It would however be wonderful if he proved himself to be that player this season and see him eventually get that contract. If not, well, we are left negotiating as we did with Smart (not likely since he'll get other offers), letting him walk (impossible), or only being on the hook for the same 3+1 contract (with 5% raises) that a FA would get with another team.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

His floor is Aaron Gordon's contract, which comparably under this salary cap would be 24 million descending each year, or about 90 million total over 4 years.

His ceiling is the max, which is 170 million over 5 years.

I would give it to him. I would offer the full 5 year.

[nickagneta]

Let Brown play the season and that should determine what he signs for. Ainge generally doesn't give out extensions, at least in the last 10 years he hasn't(Rondo being the last player he did it with).

Brown is in an odd spot because he looked so great his sophomore year, but he didn't really develop last year, but then, none of the Celtic youth did last year. So maybe all of the Celtic youth get a pass for last year because the environment was so toxic and not good for development. 

So, because of last year, even if you give Brown some slack for his season, still should be handled contract-wise with some caution. I think it's best to see what he does this year and base his next contract on how much he takes a step forward.

There is just no reason to rush things and jump into a full 5 year extension. Danny could just as easily give him a 5 year max at 25% of the cap next offseasons if Brown has a stellar year.

[TDurden]

His floor is Aaron Gordon's contract, which comparably under this salary cap would be 24 million descending each year, or about 90 million total over 4 years.

His ceiling is the max, which is 170 million over 5 years.

I would give it to him. I would offer the full 5 year.

Nope, sorry.  With both Simmons and Murray getting 5 year 170 million dollar contracts there's no way Brown re-ups for less than that. 

Hopefully the Celtics agree with your stance that he deserves the max, since they're definitely going to lose him for nothing in free agency if they try to low-ball him.  Certainly no team is going to trade for him knowing they could just outbid the Celtics for his services in free agency.

[fairweatherfan]

If I'm Danny I'd probably offer him like $120 million over 5 years and see if he's able to turn that down. He probably is, but it would seem like a bargain if he steps up this year like I think he will.  He's going to go into what looks like a weak FA market and if we can't get the extension locked down he'll probably find someone to give him a max offer sheet.

[fairweatherfan]

Hopefully the Celtics agree with your stance that he deserves the max, since they're definitely going to lose him for nothing in free agency if they try to low-ball him.  Certainly no team is going to trade for him knowing they could just outbid the Celtics for his services in free agency.

He's an RFA, we can't be outbid.

[nickagneta]

His floor is Aaron Gordon's contract, which comparably under this salary cap would be 24 million descending each year, or about 90 million total over 4 years.

His ceiling is the max, which is 170 million over 5 years.

I would give it to him. I would offer the full 5 year.

Nope, sorry.  With both Simmons and Murray getting 5 year 170 million dollar contracts there's no way Brown re-ups for less than that. 

Hopefully the Celtics agree with your stance that he deserves the max, since they're definitely going to lose him for nothing in free agency if they try to low-ball him.  Certainly no team is going to trade for him knowing they could just outbid the Celtics for his services in free agency.

Brown is a restricted free agent. Ainge can match any contract Brown signs. Jaylen is going nowhere fast if Ainge wants him on this team.