Report: Celtics “most likely” offer Jayson Tatum a max contract after season

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/report-celtics-most-likely-offer-183021394.html



Report: Celtics “most likely” offer Jayson Tatum a max contract after season



Kurt Helin
NBC Sports

May 30, 2020, 11:30 AM PDT







This should not be a surprise.

Jayson Tatum is a cornerstone of the Celtics now and going forward: 23.6 points and 7.1 rebounds a game, an efficient 56.2 true shooting percentage, a shot creator, an athletic finisher at the rim, and a guy who shot 39.8 percent from three. Tatum was an All-Star in his third season and will draw third-team All-NBA votes (whenever those votes happen).

Tatum is eligible for an extension to his rookie contract after this season. Is he worth a full max contract? Yes, especially considering he is 22 and still improving by leaps each season.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on SportsCenter the Celtics are expected to offer Tatum the max (hat tip Bleacher Report).

“If Jayson Tatum is the superstar that they envisioned when they began this whole rebuilding process when they traded Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce for all of those draft picks hoping to land a player like this, we could see ‘Glory Days’ for the Celtics again. But it’s very much up in the air, and I’m gonna tell ya, they’re gonna have to pay him like it because after this season ends, he is going to get most likely a max contract. They’re going to bet that he becomes that player.”

It’s fair to argue that max contracts should be reserved for true alphas, true No. 1s and maybe a few No. 2 players on a team, and that Tatum has yet to prove he is one of those. Boston would be betting he becomes that player — but right now that looks like a good bet. More importantly, last summer the Celtics locked up Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown on four-year contracts, sign Tatum and the Celtics have a core that will have them at or near the top of the East for years.

Exactly what a max contract will look like this coming off-season after the coronavirus hit to the league’s finances is another question, one nobody has an answer to right now. Under the old cap, it would have been $181 million over five years (and if he made All-NBA teams it could jump to $218 million), but those numbers don’t apply to the new reality. Even if Tatum signs the max offer this summer, he will make his $9.9 million next season then be paid whatever the max is for him starting in the 2021-22 season (and again, it’s impossible to say what the league’s finances will be at that point).

Pay the man his money.  Expect Boston to make the offer whenever the offseason arrives.



bob



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ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on SportsCenter the Celtics are expected to offer Tatum the max (hat tip Bleacher Report).

Um, hat tip this fella:



Actually, waiting until after the 2020-2021 season makes sense, he could get more as the article suggests.  Our hope is that he goes the Jaylen Brown route and locks it in early.

Becoming an Allstar in year 3 is a pretty clear indication that Jayson Tatum is likely to become an elite level player.  

The Celtics can match every offer on the table.  Danny avoided paying more money for Jaylen by locking him into a below max deal which I think was fair.  If Danny plans on paying max money to Jayson, he can wait until after next season to do that.  

GH has his option year on the table and his market value may determine if he opts in or ops out for FA.  I think it would take a substantial offer for him to opt out and then resign with Boston.  (i.e $100M/4 yrs)  

Tatum remains a top priority for the future of this franchise.