The season officially came to an end for Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics on Sunday, as they fell to the Miami Heat in game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals, 125-113.
After the season-ending defeat, Tatum was asked about his upcoming contract extension, with the 22-year-old providing a very interesting response to the loaded question.
Jayson Tatum is expected to sign a max extension with the Celtics during the offseason, but at the moment, the 6-foot-8 forward hasn't had the time to think about his new deal just yet:
“That's a tough question to answer,” he said, via Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I haven't even thought about that yet. I was just focused on this season.”
“The front office and my agent gotta talk about it. But I'm not thinking about that right now. We just lost a series. Just thinking about the guys in the locker room and the games. That's what I'm thinking about. Stuff like that, going to happen, if it happens, [is] not really my concern. I'm not even thinking about that.”
“I'll think about the great season we had, the great players, great job by everyone. It was a helluva year, and I enjoyed it. I appreciate everybody. This was fun. I'm not really thinking about the other stuff right now.”
That's pretty much the answer you'd expect from a guy whose season ended literally just minutes prior. Then again, it's hard to believe that the thought of all that money has not — at the very least — crossed his mind at one point or another.
Whatever the case may be, what Tatum proved throughout Boston's run in the bubble is that he deserves that max extension. The Celtics front office can't afford to be cute here, and they ought to pay Tatum the money he earned. Otherwise, it might just lead to catastrophic results for the franchise moving forward.
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