‘It’s not up to me’: Jaylen Brown admits he isn’t sure if he’ll finish his NBA career with Celtics

What Jaylen Brown said about his future with the Celtics: Jaylen Brown won’t become a free agent anytime soon, but that isn’t stopping him from being candid about whether he’ll finish his career in Boston.

In a live stream with rapper and streamer DDG, Brown admitted that he isn’t sure if he’ll end up retiring as a member of the Celtics.

“In our league, it’s a business. It’s not up to me,” Brown said when asked if he would play for another team if it came down to it. “Sometimes it is, sometimes it’s not. Obviously, the fans, they built this fine relationship. But the organization, they might want to move in another direction one day, and they might force you to [say] like, ‘You’re not playing me or you’re not trying to pay me, so I’m going to go somewhere else where they are.’”

Brown, who is in his 10th season and is the longest-tenured member of the Celtics, was at the center of trade rumors for much of his career prior to the 2023 offseason. That’s when the Celtics signed him to a five-year, $285 million extension, which was the largest contract in NBA history at the time.

Of course, in the following season, Brown helped the Celtics win an NBA title, winning MVP of the Finals and Eastern Conference finals. That accomplishment seemed to put the idea of trading Brown to bed, at least for the foreseeable future.

But, as Brown later noted, the NBA has seen some pretty unexpected moves in recent years. The Celtics star wondered if he could join the list of stars surprisingly traded someday down the line.

“Anything can happen at any given moment,” Brown said. “They traded Luka [Doncic]. They traded Kevin Durant. They traded some all-time Hall of Famers. So you fall in line with that if it comes down to it.”

Still, Brown emphasized that he wants to remain in Boston.

“That doesn’t mean I don’t [expletive] with the city, or that I wouldn’t mind being here for my whole career,” Brown said.

Brown is in the second season of the five-year extension he signed in 2023, so he won’t become a free agent until 2029 at the earliest. He’s also in the midst of a career year, sitting in sixth in the league in scoring (29.3 points per game).

As Brown has led the way for the Celtics this season, he might have some newfound confidence. In the same stream with DDG, Brown said he’d beat two-time MVP Steph Curry in a 1-on-1 game. He also provided some thoughts on Jayson Tatum’s recovery from his Achilles tear.

“He’ll probably break the record for the fastest recovery in Achilles history,” Brown said. “I wouldn’t put it past him.

Trivia:

If Jaylen Brown continued to average 29.3 points per game this season, that would be the third-highest points per game mark in a single season in Celtics history. Jayson Tatum scored 30.1 points per game in 2022-23, and Larry Bird scored 29.9 points per game in 1987-88.

What are the two other seasons that round out the top five?

(Hint: One happened in the last 10 years, and the other took place in the 1970s.)

Scores and schedules:

The Bruins have lost two out of three for the first time in three weeks, falling to the Oilers on Thursday, 3-1. They host another Canadian team from the Western Conference on Saturday, taking on the Canucks at 7 p.m.

After playing just two games in 10 days, the Celtics’ schedule is set to ramp up again. They host the Heat at 7 p.m. on Friday before taking on the Raptors in Toronto on Saturday.

Finally, the Patriots are in primetime again on Sunday when they take on the Ravens in Baltimore at 8:20 p.m. A win would secure New England a spot in the playoffs for the first time in four years. 

Read more on Boston.com:

Seahawks get a dramatic win: 

In a battle for first place in the NFC West and the NFC, the Seahawks emerged victorious as they came back from a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter. They forced overtime (more on that later) and overcame Rams star Puka Nacua’s touchdown on the opening possession of the extra frame, with Sam Darnold throwing a touchdown pass to Jaxon Smith-Njigba before completing a pass to Eric Saubert on the ensuing two-point try for a 38-37 win.