Brad Stevens comments on the possiblity of Jaylen Brown's extension

Jaylen Brown‘s inclusion on this year’s All-NBA Teams should settle any questions about his future with the Celtics, writes Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. As we detailed Wednesday, the honor means Brown is now eligible for a five-year Designated Veteran extension that starts at 35% of the salary cap. He can sign a new deal this summer that could be worth up to $295M and would take effect in the 2024-25 season.

There have been rumors that Brown isn’t satisfied with being the No. 2 option behind Jayson Tatum in Boston and that he might have considered looking elsewhere if he hadn’t qualified for the extension. An Eastern Conference general manager who talked to Deveney believes that’s no longer a worry.

“Well, he would be crazy to pass on what Boston can give him,” the GM said. “They will have to go all in and he is going to have to take it. You can’t turn down what is going to wind up being $60 million a year. Maybe he’s happy in Boston, maybe not, but if you’re Jaylen Brown and you have the opportunity to be the highest-paid player in the league, you’re damn right you take it.”

Brown, who was a second-team selection, received a $1,035,714 bonus for the achievement. He has now reached all of his contract incentives, including games played and advancing to the second round, giving him a total of $3.1M, tweets Bobby Marks of ESPN.

There’s more on the Celtics:

• Tatum also qualified for a Designated Veteran extension by earning All-NBA honors, and Jared Weiss of The Athletic looks at how two mega-deals will impact the team’s future. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement places harsh restrictions on teams that exceed the second apron, which could be a concern in Boston if Tatum and Brown both receive maximum extensions. Weiss notes that Grant Williams is likely to leave in free agency this summer if he gets a competitive offer, and Payton Pritchard has already expressed a desire to be traded. The Celtics don’t appear to have capable replacements on the roster, Weiss states, and their ability to add free agents will be limited.
• Pritchard should get a larger role in Game 6 as the Celtics try to salvage their season, contends Brian Robb of MassLive. The third-year guard scored six points in eight minutes on Tuesday, and Robb argues that it would benefit the offense to have another creator on the court.
• Head coach Joe Mazzulla may not survive a second-round exit, suggests Matt Vautour of MassLive. Vautour states that although Mazzulla has done an admirable job after taking over as head coach under difficult circumstances, he has been outcoached so far by Doc Rivers and might not be the right leader for an organization that’s focused on winning a title.