For better or worse, the Celtics and Jaylen Brown are joined at the hip

The Celtics and Jaylen Brown are joined at the hip after the two sides agreed to the largest contract in NBA history. 

Per reports, Brown landed a five-year, fully guaranteed $304 million contract extension, $28 million more than Nikola Jokic earned last season when his $276 million contract made him the league's highest earner at the time.

If Brown follows Jokic's footsteps, a championship will soon come for Boston. Jokic, however, was a two-time MVP by the time he received his landmark extension. Brown, meanwhile, has two All-Star Game appearances.

The discussion of whether Brown is “worth” the contract is largely meaningless. The market dictates players’ value, and the market said Brown should get paid.

With as much money as owners rake in, it's only fair for Brown to extract as much money as he can.

He was named Second-Team All-NBA in 2022-23, his first time placing on an All-NBA Team. That came after he averaged 26.6 points per game on 49.1 percent shooting, both the highest marks of his seven-year career. 

While the signing is great for Brown, it puts Boston in a corner.

It’s hard to see how the Celtics move Brown’s contract should they ever want to, at least not until it’s an expiring deal, which will be in 2028.

Jayson Tatum isn't going anywhere, and neither is Kristaps Porzingis, who signed a two-year contract extension worth $60 million earlier this offseason. That deal expires after the 2025-26 season.

The Celtics will be more top-heavy in 2023-24 than last season. Boston traded guard Marcus Smart as part of the Porzingis deal and then moved forward Grant Williams to the Mavericks for the rights to three future second-round picks.

Boston will need more from Brown than he showed in the Eastern Conference Finals against Miami. In the seven-game series, he averaged 19 points per game while shooting 41.8 percent from the field and a ghastly 16.3 percent from three. Most troubling, he averaged more turnovers per game (3.6) than assists (3.4).

He was much better in the first two rounds, shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 47.1 percent from deep while averaging 24.9 points. 

The Celtics are talented and young enough to be in contention in the Eastern Conference for seasons to come, but instead of having endless possibilities to make it back to the top of the NBA's pecking order, Boston only has one path. That path involves Brown leaving no doubt that the $304 million was money well spent.