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At his end-of-season press conference on Thursday, Boston Celtics president Brad Stevens said he couldn't comment specifically on details of contracts and potential extensions, but said that he's had "nothing but great conversations" with Jaylen Brown and wants the All-NBA wing to remain with the franchise. 

"I can say without a doubt we want Jaylen to be here," Stevens said. "And he's a big part of us. And we believe in him and I'm thankful for him."

Stevens went on to praise Brown and Jayson Tatum for the way they handle both winning and losing. 

"When those guys have success, they come back to work," Stevens said. "And when they get beat, they own it and they come back to work. And so I know that that's what they're about. And that's hard to find."

After Boston's 103-84 loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals on Monday, Brown said that both he and the team "failed," adding that he had "a terrible game when my team needed me the most," as Tatum sprained his ankle on the first possession. Brown had 19 points on 8-for-23 shooting, missed eight of his nine 3-point attempts, attempted only two free throws and had five assists and eight turnovers in the season-ending loss. In the Celtics' four losses against the Heat, Brown averaged 17.3 points on 36.9% shooting, with 15 total assists and 19 total turnovers, missing 26 of his 29 total 3-point attempts. 

Brown was far better in Boston's wins, though, and, before all of that, he had an excellent regular season. With more usage than ever before, he averaged 22.7 points on 57% true shooting, plus 5.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 3.3 turnovers and 1.1 steals in 37.6 minutes. It would be nice if the assists were higher and the turnovers were lower, but Brown made the All-Star team for the first time and, more significantly, made All-NBA Second Team. 

The latter honor makes him eligible to sign a supermax contract extension in July, should the Celtics offer it. Such a contract would start at approximately $49 million and pay Brown more than $285 million over five years.

"[Brown] had a great year," Stevens said. "All-NBA year. He's a big part of us going forward, in our eyes." 

The NBA's new collective bargaining agreement comes with much harsher penalties for teams that go deep into the luxury tax, starting in the 2024-25 season. Brown's extension wouldn't kick in until that season, and Boston could theoretically get a deal done and avoid the luxury tax entirely in 2023-24, but this would require shedding some salary and letting Grant Williams, who is about to be a restricted free agent, walk. 

Signing Brown to the supermax would almost assuredly make the Celtics a tax team in 2024-25, though, and from there they will be among the teams doing cap gymnastics trying to skirt the dreaded "second apron." Tatum made All-NBA this season, too, so he'll be eligible in the summer of 2024 to sign a supermax projected at about $295 million over five years.

"Every team's going to have to make tough decisions every year," Stevens said. "Right? But at the end of the day we love our foundation, we love our core, and that's really our focus and priority."