As the Celtics maneuvered through an uncertain week in which they stayed put in the NBA draft and then saw star forward Gordon Hayward decide to sign with the Hornets, it was easy to forget how promising their young core remained.
And on Sunday they took the next step in solidifying it for years to come. The team agreed to a five-year, $195 million designated rookie max extension with star forward Jayson Tatum, a league source confirmed. The extension will begin in the 2021-22 season and it includes a player option in the fifth and final year.
This deal was mostly a formality, as Tatum soared to the NBA’s upper echelon last season and then watched fellow players from his draft class De’Aaron Fox and Donovan Mitchell agree to their own max deals in recent days.
A league source said Saturday night that the Celtics and Tatum’s representatives were simply ironing out some contract language.
Tatum’s deal includes about $163 million in guaranteed salary as well as escalator clauses that will vault the figure to about $195 million if Tatum meets his incentives. Rookie extensions can be for up to 25 percent of the salary cap, but Tatum will be eligible for 30 percent if he receives All-NBA honors or is named defensive player of the year this season.
Tatum, the No. 3 overall pick of the 2017 draft, took the next step in his rapid ascension last year, averaging 23.4 points and 7 rebounds per game while connecting on 40.3 percent of his 3-pointers. He was named an All-Star for the first time.
He went to another level in the playoffs, averaging 25.7 points and 10 rebounds while playing an league-leading 40.6 minutes per game.
Last year the Celtics agreed on a four-year, $115 million extension with Jaylen Brown, so their two future cornerstones are now locked in for years to come.
Prior to Brown, Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge had not finalized a rookie extension since signing point guard Rajon Rondo to one in 2009. But over the 10 years that followed, he never had a pair of top-three picks, as Brown and Tatum were.
Over the past two seasons the Celtics have lost three marquee additions. After the 2018-19 season, All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Al Horford departed during free agency, and then Hayward decided on Saturday to sign a four-year deal with the Hornets.
While the Celtics will still lean on All-Star point guard Kemba Walker, there is no question that the balance of power on this roster has shifted, however, and that the keys have been handed to Tatum and Brown.
If Tatum, for some reason, had turned down this massive extension offer, he would have become a restricted free agent at season’s end. But that was never a consideration, as no other teams would have been permitted to offer the haul that Boston did.
The Celtics would have preferred to avoid giving Tatum a player option in the fifth year of the deal, in the 2025-26 season, but the superstars have some leverage in these situations. Mitchell, a fellow All-Star in Tatum’s draft class, received a player option in the fifth year of his extension, too.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.
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Celtics lock in Jayson Tatum with five-year, $195 million max contract extension - The Boston Globe
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