Will Jaylen Brown + Jayson Tatum FINISH their careers with the Celtics?

Fewer players have gotten to that top tier of nine figure deal. So that's the history. That's how we got to this point. But Mark, I'm going to start with you here. Tell us a little bit more about how Jalen Brown and the Celtics reached this deal. Well, I mean, once Jalen got the All-NBA, he was eligible. And the thing is, if you're the Celtics, you got this 26-year-old who averaged 26 with Jason Tatum, in his prime, like, you're not going to let him go. And you're not going to not give him the offer before the season starts and make it like a lame-duck situation. And I was basically told anything less than the max was not going to be acceptable for him. So they made him the offer. He still has a lot of great years left of basketball. And he's also a great dude off the floor, too. So you're partnering that and that, you know, worst case scenario, if he doesn't live up to the deal, you know, you got the asset. You can't lose the asset. Somebody that talented, but exceptional person, exceptional player in their prime. I know it seems like a money, money. It is a lot of money. Yeah, but you have to do it. But I think that's part of the reason why we started the show showing exactly how we got here because we're going to see these numbers continue to inflate. We've already seen an article on CBS discussing who could be the first $400 million player. Might it be someone like Shea Gildas Alexander, if all the cards fall where they may. But Ramona, the question is, you said live up to the contract, living up to it is championship. So what stands in the Celtics? Well, first of all, we have to see in a month or in a year or two that Jason Tatum is going to pass him. Okay, and that's going to be the biggest contract in NBA history because the way you get there is that you have a max rookie deal and then you have a super max second big contract. And so this is the Celtics are in this unique position with these two guys. And the question is, will this combination when you lock these two guys in long term, will this combination of two superstar players who have similar skill sets? Will that work out? Not it's not always Shaq and Kobe, right? It's not always Steph and Klay like that where they have complimentary skill sets. Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum had do a lot of the same things. And so the Celtics have shuffled their lineup. They've shuffled their roster around to see if this Kristaps Porzingis thing is going to be a better alignment. Yeah, but I don't know. What do you know? To me? The question is, do we see both those guys finish those contracts right with the Boston Celtics, right? Because at some point they're going to have a hundred million dollars going to two guys, right? And hundred million dollars so far as Kendrick Perkins pointed out on our show yesterday often nights. We see them trade off. Not necessarily both be having Pete games at the same time. And that's something that Celtics are going to need here Mark. Yeah, and also I think now with this collective bargaining agreement, the stars are getting the money. Yeah, but we got to pay attention what happened on the back end. Right? And so the role players, the guys that the tournament bench, maybe even a guy who's a starter and not getting that big money. They're saving the money for the stars now and the lesser players are paying the price for it. Yeah, I also think there's a there's a sense that when we do this and you see it attacks like exactly what was pointing out on his podcast the other day. You see a guy Mike Conley at one point had the largest contract in NBA history, right? Jeff was underpaid. Yeah, and underpaid and and and Jalen Brown surpasses nickel Jokic. Okay, two-time MVP who just won a title. And so it this this sits on Jalen Brown, like he's got to live up to that. But somebody's gonna pass him pretty soon. Yeah, and I think the other thing I've learned in. Just my life and my career is like don't worry about what anybody else is doing. No, don't worry about what anybody else is making. They have the pockets. Just just just just let them play. And so the Celtics like they took a gamble. They they shuffled their team around. They went for a the added Porzingis for Marcus smart. That is a big gamble. It's an analytics driven gamble thinking they had too many guards and they need to change things around. So let's that's the big gamble. Not not paying Jalen Brown. I generally I generally fully believe that you should buy by you stay out of other people's pocket. Yeah, but there's a couple other big extensions that I'm just hoping we can take a little peek at because offseason has some really big names looking to cash in on extensions with their teams, right? They all have different dates when they can sign but Anthony Davis, he's coming up next. You can see him right there. His window begins on August 4th, but let's concentrate on Anthony Davis and the Lakers here because Davis is eligible starting August 4th. Like I mentioned the max the Lakers can give him on a three year extension is a hundred and sixty seven million totaling a five-year 251.4 million dollar contract. So the decision to make that offer it'll come ultimately from Rob Polinka after he discusses it with the Lakers brass, but he was recently praised by Lakers legend Magic Johnson. Look at this. This is an interview with the L.A. Times quote. He was the number one GM in the NBA this offseason. No question about it. All the guys that we signed will help LeBron and the other guys because now we are deeper. Rob is going to be oh my God executive of the year Ramona. I feel like I just you couldn't see her. Oh my God. And this never gets that a couple years ago. Look, you know, what's amazing about magic though. He can say that and I actually believe him. Yep, like because in that moment, he really feels it and you know, I don't want to go back in the way back machine because it's not that way back. But I mean it was the the backstabbing and then I'm quitting because of Rob Polinka and then they just the history between those two is pretty incredible to read that quote after this but magic is kind of a bottom line guy. So if you perform well, he's going to compliment you and I think he really means that. Yeah, and I like this discussion of Rob Polinka as an executive. This is evolved since he's gotten this job because a lot of people didn't like that. He got the job that the Laker GM job, which is probably the most coveted in the league didn't really even host interviews when they fired Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss. And so there's always been a jealousy there with Rob Polinka getting this job. And and so I think he you know, he should have got more votes last year as executive of the year. He didn't get a lot of support there. And so Anthony Davis is extension here to me. They this is a very interesting situation to play out. I think they extend him. The question is what does it look like are the is it fully guaranteed are their performance and games played incentives. It's it's important. I think everything I've heard from Anthony Davis. He wants to say Lakers whole life. Yeah, you know this whole career. They obviously are a star driven team and has built their legacy that way is one of the 75 greatest players of all time. So I think they extend him. But what does that extension look like? And do they build in any protections for the team because that's really going to be important with him going forward as you know, how I don't decide when it's Horace tonight. I'm a chill. I only get to go to Charlotte two times a year. It's somebody paid their money to come watch me play like not trying to be arrogant. Like like it's a bunch of kids in there my shoes and my jersey and just because we playing Charlotte on NBA League Pass on a Monday and ain't nobody watching. I am chilling tonight. That's not what the great players. That's not what the best players do. I just got goosebumps hearing Jason Tatum say that thinking about the late great Kobe Bryant. What Vanessa Bryant said, right? Yeah, Michael Jordan says what about the guy all the way up in the rafters the young kid the young lady all the way up in the rafters who came to see us play this one night Ramona when you hear all of that from the today's greats in the era of load management and these guys don't want it and blah blah blah blah blah. What does that make you? First of all, Jason Tatum always wants to play like whenever he sits out. That's not always wants to play whenever that whenever those guys sit out. It's because somebody's telling him to sit out and Jason probably plays too much. He needs to load bandage a little bit more during the season. So he has something left at the end. That's Kobe talking. That's that's Jason Tatum being a young player seeking out Kobe Bryant listening to everything he's ever said reading everything he's ever he's ever said and then internalizing it and believing in himself. I mean, I I think that every day when I'm on when I'm here at ESPN is sitting next to you every day. Like we're in the middle of the summer. Everyone's on vacation. Think about how 10 years ago how you would have just one day sitting in that chair, right? Right. And when he talks to those to those campers like he means it you can tell when somebody means I can and I think like those two guys putting themselves out there and internalizing that and I just it's not a line. No, you see that from them on the court. Absolutely. Yeah, we read about and talk about basketball for a living. I always have to remind myself. We have a get to job. Not a half to get Manny Williams says and that is such a that is such a privilege to be able to do that. Yeah, and then I love Yannis. He sound like a og man. You like come sit on the corner with me and my brothers man. Y'all I like it man. And I like that mentality the stuff he said after the postseason, right this like I always like Yannis as it was and the dad jokes man. He really a 50 year old dude, you know, like a 25 year old body man. I like him and me and him can hang out. Yeah. I mean, I listen to old records with you. I love it. I mean, I love what Yannis is saying what Jason Tatum is saying to instill this in the next generation of young Hoopers their love for the game. That's what this is all about.