Brad Stevens Breaks Silence About Jaylen Brown’s Celtics Future

Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens told NBA reporters on June 1 that he wants Jaylen Brown to stay in Beantown.

Brown is eligible to sign the supermax extension with the Celtics this summer after making an All-NBA team this season.

“I’ve had nothing but great conversations with Jaylen,” Stevens said. “I can say, without a doubt, we want Jaylen to be here. He’s a big part of us. We believe in him and I’m thankful for him. … I’m really thankful that when those guys have success they come back to work. And when they get beat, they own it and they come back to work. And so I know that’s what they’re about. And that’s hard to find.”

Brown averaged 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists for the Celtics during the regular season while shooting 49.1% from the field, 33.5% from beyond the arc and 76.5% from the free-throw line. He made his second All-Star team and helped Boston win 57 games.

The Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the 2023 playoffs and the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round. However, Boston lost to the Miami Heat in the conference finals in seven games and Brown had a poor outing in Game 7. The swingman had eight turnovers in 43 minutes and shot only 8-of-23 overall and 1-of-9 from 3.

“We failed. I failed,” Brown said after the Celtics lost Game 7. “We let the whole city down. … It’s been a hell of a year. Those guys in that locker room are warriors, resilient. It’s been an honor to share the locker room with a lot of those guys. Despite whatever circumstance that we’ve had this year, we’ve rose to the occasion. We got to this point and we came up short.”

The Celtics are expected to offer the supermax extension to Brown, who has career averages of 17.9 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists.