Jayson Tatum will become eligible for a rookie scale extension during the 2020 offseason and – as one report recently indicated – it’s a safe bet that the Celtics will put a long-term, maximum-salary contract offer on the table at that point.
Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype examined the issue, speaking to current and former NBA team executives about Tatum’s contract situation, and got similar feedback. Current ESPN analyst and former Nets executive Bobby Marks told Kennedy that a max deal for Tatum is a “no-brainer,” though he did present one scenario in which the young forward might decide to pass on such an offer later this year.
“The only reason that Tatum wouldn’t sign an extension is because there’s uncertainty as far as what that 2021 salary cap is going to be at, and his salary would be based on a percentage of the cap,” Marks said. “That’d be the only reason why you’d want to play it out. You’d do a one-year deal in 2021 and then, hopefully, the cap goes back up in 2022. That would really be the only reason why.”
Here’s more on the Celtics:
- Jaylen Brown, who signed a long-term extension in 2019 that will go into effect for the 2020/21 season, received high praise from Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck this week. Speaking to WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche, Grousbeck praised Brown for his character and social awareness. “Since day one when I met Jaylen, back in (2015), it was so obvious that he’s just special – a special person with special character,” Grousbeck said, per Justin Leger of NBC Sports Boston. “He has educated me, to be perfectly honest. … He is a very, very good person with a very good conscience.”
- Using players’ home/road splits as a guide, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston speculates about which Celtics will be best suited for playing games at a neutral site in the Orlando “bubble” this summer.
- After dealing with a series of injuries throughout the 2019/20 season, the Celtics should benefit from being fully healthy when play resumes this summer, though they won’t have a ton of time to reestablish cohesion and chemistry, writes Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald.
Celtics May package the picks 17,26,30
17+26+30 = 10th pick?
I’d love that as a C’s fan. I mean, any team with the #10 pick needs more help than one guy in a crappy draft. Why not take 3 guys and see if you can find a diamond in the rough.
Both avenues have merits
Celts can move Hayward next yr. And those three picks are valuable. I can see them making a move on draft night. They miss Horford. But he is over payed. So I can see why they didn’t resign him. This team is ready to contend. Team has to go for it. Howard on this team makes them stronger. Even Cauley-Stein as rim protector. Helps them. There are a few good vet centers FA next yr.
No need to trade Hayward
He can opt out then sign 3 years 66 million
As a Cs fan, I’m only interested in a center that’d provide an upgrade to Theis and (eventually) Robert Williams.
I don’t like it’s realistic that they’ll find a player who’d supplant either of those bigs.
Yeah he’s special alright. Brown can really pick his spots.