Rick Barry says it’s ‘hard to believe’ the Celtics signed Jaylen Brown to Supermax deal
"18.5 points per game [in the playoffs] is nothing, seriously, to pay somebody that kind of money."
Jaylen Brown is planning to be with the Celtics for a while after signing an NBA-record supermax contract extension worth up to $304 million over five years.
But, the figures behind his deal have caused some people to question the move. Eight-time all-star Rick Barry is among the skeptics.
“I mean, look at some of the contracts they have,” Barry said during an interview with Joy D’Angela. “Even, you know, like Brown. [$304 million?] That’s just hard for me to believe. His average for the playoffs for them is 18.5 points per game, and he’s going to make $69 million in the last year of his contract. 18.5 points per game is nothing, seriously, to pay somebody that kind of money.”
The Celtics chose to modify their core this offseason after failing to make the NBA Finals.
They kept Brown and Jayson Tatum, who have been one of the NBA’s most successful duos over the past few seasons. They also swapped Marcus Smart for Kristaps Porzingis and draft picks.
While Brown has helped the Celtics reach four of the last six Eastern Conference Finals, he had a career-high eight turnovers in a Game 7 loss to the Miami Heat that ended Boston’s seasons his year.
“He’s a nice player, I really like him but man he’s got to improve his game. He turns the ball over too much, he tries to force things, and so does his teammate Tatum. That’s one of the reasons they lost to the Warriors two seasons ago. They make too many turnovers.”
Overall, last season was arguably Brown’s best one in a Boston uniform. He set career-highs in points per game, rebounds, and field-goal percentage while tying his career-high for assists. He also tied his career high for turnovers.
The all-star forward remains a big part of the Celtics’ future plans nonetheless.
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