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Should the Boston Celtics trade Jaylen Brown? | Locked On NBA

Brown struggled in Boston's Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference finals and is eligible for a massive contract extension.

BOSTON — Following a lopsided home loss to the Miami Heat in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Boston Celtics face an important roster-building inflection point with Jaylen Brown, the All-Star longtime franchise cornerstone who is eligible for an extension.

Brown shot 8-for-23 in Game 7 and turned the ball over eight times as star teammate Jayson Tatum was hobbled by a tweaked ankle.

In a Wednesday edition of the Locked On NBA podcast, hosts John Karalis and Jake Madison discussed Brown’s future in Boston.

“It’s fake for this offseason because I don’t think you want to overreact too much,” Madison argued. “They’ve been a somewhat perennial contender, you don’t want to pull the plug on that too soon.”

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Madison also pointed out that now is an easy time to overreact to the negatives of Brown because of the nature of the team’s recent loss.

“After that complete no-show, awful Game 7, that sticker price is tough,” he said. “Do you really want to give that to Jaylen Brown after that game?”

Beyond these playoffs, while paying Brown upwards of $50 million feels exorbitant under the current salary cap circumstances in the NBA, the overall cap will go up in the coming years, making it easier to stomach a huge contract.

“We’re in a stretch here where every new guy is going to be the highest-paid player in NBA history,” Karalis said. “There’s going to be an entire class there in the first year of that new TV deal.”

Brown can also be expected to continue improving, at least for the next few seasons. There may be an argument to trade Brown anyway, but it should come based upon whether Brown fits the future vision of the team rather than just based on Game 7 or this postseason.

“It’s important to remember he’s 26. They had a new coach,” Karalis said. “The stars, the coach and the GM all need to get together to figure out exactly what the direction is.”

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