Isiah Thomas' Advice to Jaylen Brown on Celtics Contract Extension: 'Take the Money'

If Jaylen Brown is soliciting advice on what to do about his future, Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is here to offer a take.

Speaking to Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com, Thomas said the Boston Celtics forward should "take the money."

Bulpett did note Thomas, who has been a mentor to Brown throughout his career, made the comment with a laugh.

The Celtics are in a potentially difficult situation as they try to figure out which direction they want to take with their roster. Brown and Jayson Tatum making the All-NBA team this season made them eligible to sign supermax deals worth a combined $613 million.

Brown's situation is the more pressing matter for the Boston front office. He has only one year remaining on his current deal and is eligible to sign the supermax this summer. Tatum can't sign his supermax contract until next offseason.

The Celtics did make Brown the centerpiece of their trade offer to the Brooklyn Nets for Kevin Durant last summer, but that was when they were courting one of the best players in NBA history.

Would Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens settle for "only" a very good player in return for Brown?

The Athletic's Jared Weiss noted Damian Lillard "might be the only player potentially on the market who could plausibly be an upgrade" over Brown.

There's no indication at this point the Portland Trail Blazers are even entertaining offers for Lillard. They seem set on trying to package the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NBA draft to take another shot at trying to win with the All-Star point guard.

Brown's stock is down coming off a rough playoff series against the Miami Heat. He averaged 19.0 points per game on shooting splits of 41.8 percent overall and 16.3 percent from three-point range.

But in the two series prior to the Eastern Conference Finals, the 26-year-old averaged 24.6 points per game on 54.1 percent shooting (47.1 percent from behind the arc).

If the Celtics are willing to offer Brown the supermax deal, it's hard to imagine him turning it down. It's hard to break up a nucleus that has made the conference finals in three of the past four years.