The Celtics avoided the next Paul George contract by trading for the current one

"Optionality" is the word Brad Stevens used to explain the Jaylen Brown trade. He's talking about three years from now.

Good morning. Insert Yourself Into a Sporting Event Without Causing the Team You are Purported to be Supporting to Lose in Horrific Fashion Challenge. You can't! Let's basketball.

Celtics boss Brad Stevens and Celtics boss's boss Bill Chisholm held court Monday to discuss the team's offseason moves (so far) and thus got a chance to discuss the now-official Jaylen Brown trade. Per usual, Stevens was convincing and cogent. He's really smooth at the media piece of the job. Part of the charm offensive was, after noting that it's really hard to build a contender with two players taking 70% of the salary cap, acknowledging that the Celtics still have two players taking 70% of the salary cap. This has been one of the biggest knocks on the trade, along with the meager return that few believe is maximum value Boston could receive. The optionality received from this trade is, on paper, a single year of salary savings, because until 2028-29, Paul George and Jaylen Brown make about the same, with Brown offering much more expected production.

But this elides the fact that Brown is eligible for and expects to receive a two-year extension at a very high salary, and Stevens did not want to put the future Celtics in that position.

Paul George signed his mammoth current contract – four years, $212 million, a major albatross – ahead of his age-34 season. A two-year extension for Jaylen Brown – somewhere around two years, $140 million, a huge chunk of salary space – would kick in ahead of Brown's age-33 season. George's on-court value at his peak was higher than Brown's has ever been, though Brown has postseason success that has largely (but not entirely) eluded George. With some edges rounded and tucked, the extension for Brown could potentially look a lot like George's contract. In a way, Stevens is taking that medicine now instead of deferring it to the near future.