Jaylen Brown’s contract with the Boston Celtics may be one of the worst in the NBA.
That is according to Stephen Noh’s DARKO salary model, which has identified the All-Star guard’s contract as one of the NBA’s least-efficient deals.
The DARKO model identifies Brown’s performances over the life of the contract as that of a “lower-end All-Star.” The model believes Brown is being overpaid by $68.5 million, and his contract is providing closer to $167.7 million in actual value.
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However, Noh writes for The Sporting News that he thinks the model has made a “mistake” in identifying Brown’s four-year, $236.2 million supermax contract as one that is providing a negative return on investment.
“Brown has played like an MVP candidate and will certainly make an All-NBA team this season,” Noh wrote. “(DARKO) recognizes his offensive talent but is very low on his defense. Brown has been a good one-on-one defender, but he does have lapses when he’s guarding off the ball.”
With Jayson Tatum still recovering from an Achilles tendon rupture, Brown has assumed the Celtics’ scoring burden and is averaging a career-best 29.6 points per game. For a team that is surprisingly second in the East after 46 games, Brown has been absolutely essential.
And as the saying goes, “flags fly forever.” The Celtics already have won a championship with Brown as an important player, and Boston figures to continue contending as long as Brown and Tatum are on the roster. Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics surely consider Brown’s contract as money well spent.
