Putting up the best numbers he has in his five years in the league in almost every measurable category, Boston Celtics star forward Jaylen Brown looks like a near-lock to make the first NBA All-Star team of his still-young career at 24 years old.
And it turns out there’s a bit of added motivation built into his contract — an unlikely bonus of $1.3 million that will be added to his year-end paycheck for taking home the as-of-yet unreached achievement. The move will squeeze Boston closer to the hard cap they incurred when generating the massive $28.5 million traded-player exception they got out of the Gordon Hayward move to the Charlotte Hornets, but it seems unlikely Boston would mind much given they’ll still have plenty of wiggle room to make moves if Brown does get the nod.
NBA All-Star voting opens tomorrow. Here are the players with a bonus for making an All-Star team:
Jaylen Brown BOS – $1.3M
Kevin Durant BKN – $1M
Evan Fournier ORL – $500K
Aaron Gordon ORL – $500K
Gary Harris DEN – $750K
Buddy Hield SAC – $1M1/2
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 27, 2021
Right now, it seems very likely the Georgia native will end up with enough votes for at least a reserve spot — though there is still a fair amount of time for his play to drop off.
But one way we can thank Brown for helping to carry the team in the absence of teammates Kemba Walker and Jayson Tatum for long stretches in 2020-21 is by being sure to vote for the Cal-Berkeley product every day.
You know what to do!
This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!
