NBA executive suggests Celtics add an opt-out to Jaylen Brown's supermax

BOSTON -- Jaylen Brown will be eligible to get a supermax extension from the Celtics at midnight. By all accounts, Boston is ready to pony up heaps of cash to the two-time All-Star and All-NBA second teamer.

But could there be a bit of a catch? A little bit of a safety net for both sides should things not go the way everyone would hope after Brown agrees to his five-year extension worth $295 million?

One unnamed executive had an interesting suggestion to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com: Put an opt-out in the middle of that behemoth of a contract. That way, if Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Kristaps Porzingis bring the C's a title, Brown could get even more money when things get even sillier on the NBA landscape in a few years. And if the Celtics continue to come up short of their goal, the team would have a chance to hit the reset button and not be stuck paying Brown upwards of $70 million per year.

"That allows [Brown] to look at where the market is then after the new media deals are done and streaming comes in with Amazon and Apple and all those folks bidding to get in," the executive told Bulpett. "Things could look a lot different then. But that team option would also give the Celtics a chance to reset if things don't work out for whatever reason — injuries to the core rotation or things like that. They'd still have to buy Jaylen out, but the number would be less than the $65-or-so million on the contract."

"He gets to bet on himself, and the team is able to get out a little earlier for less. Jaylen would still make out in the second case, because he'd be free to sign elsewhere," they added.

It's not a terrible suggestion, though it's easy to wonder what a non-Celtics executive has to gain by throwing this out there. This is, after all, the season for fabricated rumors and feeding out misinformation. (Then again, when isn't that the case in the NBA?)

With the new CBA, teams can't be as willy nilly with monstrous contracts. And with the Celtics expected to give Porzingis a two-year extension this summer (on top of his $36 million salary for this season), and with Tatum eligible for an even bigger supermax next summer, there could be a serious number crunch in Boston's near future.

An opt-out in the Brown contract could help the Celtics avoid a Bradley Beal-like situation, where the Washington Wizards essentially gave their star player away to the Suns this summer for a truckload of second-round picks just to get out of his supermax. It could also help Brown get an even bigger payday a few years down the line.

We'll find out if the two sides are able to get creative, or if they believe an old fashioned supermax deal is the best for both sides, sometime in the near future.