INSTAGRAM I @fchwpo

This week, Jaylen Brown, a standout player for the Boston Celtics, inked the largest contract in NBA history—a five-year supermax extension worth an incredible $450 million ($US 303.7 million). With this signing, Brown surpassed players like LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Jason Tatum. Take note that I stated star, not superstar.

Brown’s contract is larger than two-time MVP Nikola Jokic’s $408 million (US$276 million) pact with the Denver Nuggets; this difference can be attributed to increased league income and the salary cap.

After his incredible season, in which he averaged 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, and won him second-team All-NBA honors—a requirement for obtaining the five-year supermax extension—Brown’s deal has been discussed for a while. The question was whether the Celtics were prepared to part with a player who, in Tatum’s case, isn’t even the best on his team, has an unstable temperament, and essentially burned out in the postseason. As it happens, they are.

In addition to its enormous value, Brown, 26, will be relieved to sign the deal as it puts an end to trade rumours involving players like Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant. It makes sense because Brown is a large wing with a reliable jump shooting and the ability to play lockdown defence, which is highly valued in the NBA these days. However, he has several flaws. He is a turnover machine, unable of dribbling, and not very good at setting up plays. These kinds of liabilities are the ones that can be uncovered in the playoffs, as they were against the Golden State Warriors in the previous two years and Miami in the Eastern Conference Finals this year. There, on 41% shooting, he averaged 19 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. Though not the figures you’d expect from the most paid player in the league, it’s by no means a disgrace.

It goes without saying that Tatum must be brought up when discussing Brown. The pair has been among the NBA’s most productive in recent years; last season, they combined for 56.7 points a game, which is the fourth-highest total since 1976. They also each scored 30 points in 10 games, which is a feat only Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, the original Batman & Robin tandem, had achieved in the previous 30 years.

It wasn’t entirely evident until the previous season who was the cheery Boy Wonder and who was the emo loner—Tatum and Brown are the new caped killers in the league. Although Brown is also not a natural playmaker, Tatum, who is a year younger than his teammate, was unquestionably the best player for the Celtics throughout this year’s playoffs and has a far more complete all-around game.

For the Celtics, that has been the problem. Is there a real match between this dynamic pair, or would the team be better served by starting a pure point guard next to Tatum—someone they will have to shell out a lot of money for when he becomes eligible for his own supermax—instead? Given that one player has demonstrated that his ceiling is a Robin, can the Celtics really afford to have two individuals playing big-time on the same team? Will that make it harder for the team to build a roster in the future? Or will Brown’s contract appear to be, if not a good value, then at least wisely spent given the money that the league will receive from the next TV rights deal?

Now that they’ve made their decision, the Celtics must pray they don’t live to regret it.

Jaylen Brown is who?

Brown, a 6′ 7″ power forward, was selected third overall in the 2016 draft, just behind Ben Simmons, out of the University of California. Brown, a two-time All-Star, averages 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists on a 47% field goal percentage in his career. Last year, he was named to the All-NBA second team. A businessman, mentor for poor children, and fashionista (as most NBA players are to some extent), the Atlanta native makes his living off the court. In addition, he serves as the National Basketball Players Association’s vice president.

Why does Jaylen Brown receive a higher salary than athletes like Steph Curry and LeBron James?

Good game, right man, perfect place. Brown is qualified for the supermax extension at the same time that the wage cap of the league is rising. Although it is uncommon, there has been precedent for a second-tier player to earn the highest salary in the league. The most recent headline-grabbing contracts went to MVPs Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook. Mike Conley, the point guard for the Grizzlies at the time who has never been selected to an All Star squad, signed a $153 million, five-year contract in 2016 thanks to a huge salary cap hike.

For what duration will Jaylen Brown hold the top salary among NBA players?

Economics dictates that Brown’s time in the light will pass, just as Conley’s did when Steph Curry signed a record-breaking five-year, $201 million contract in 2017. Brown should thus relax and enjoy his time in the sun. Player salaries are about to blow up with a new CBA in effect and the NBA about to negotiate its next TV deal, which some have pegged at around US$70 billion. When Brown negotiates his deal next summer, teammate Jason Tatum will probably pass him.

Will Jaylen Brown’s huge contract be regretted by the Celtics?

Possess a crystal ball? No, I didn’t believe that. To be honest, either option may work here. When less well-known players start making big money in a few years, Brown’s contract may appear like a relative bargain. Right now, it appears like an overpay. A lot is dependent on Brown’s growth. Every season, he has gotten better in the most of his game, including bar ballhandling. It’s absurd to imagine that Ben Simmons was ever thought of as a better player than Brown. Tatum and Brown have drawn criticism for not winning the Larry O’Brien trophy while they are still just in their mid-20s. The majority of players, according to history, don’t win a championship until they are in their late 20s. LeBron James was 27, Michael Jordan was 28, and Jokic, the most recent great to accomplish so, was 28. Time is on the team’s side. The onus now shifts on the Celtics to assemble a team around Tatum and Brown in order to get them over the finish line. Brown must also live up to the Celtics’ confidence in him. Being a “superstar,” like Batman, would be beneficial.