Celtics Pick Up 2019-20 Options On Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown
BOSTON (CBS) -- Danny Ainge made two of the easiest decisions of his career on Wednesday, exercising the 2019-20 options on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
It was a no-brainer to pick up the fourth-year option on Brown and third-year option on Tatum, as the duo gives Boston an envious young core to mix with veterans Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. Tatum has been a rising star since then Celtics drafted him third overall last summer, while Brown has shown steady progress on both ends of the floor since being drafted third overall in 2016.
Tatum is now locked in at $7.8 million while Brown will carry a cap hit at $6.534 million for next season, relative bargains for what the players produce for the Celtics.
And just for fun, Ainge also exercised the third-year option on forward Guerschon Yabusele. That move was far from a no-brainer, but the Celtics apparently don't want to see the "Dancing Bear" anywhere else. Yabusele will now make $3.1 million next season, so the team is either expecting big things out of the forward from France, or his salary will be used in a trade. Boston drafted Yabusele 16th overall in 2016, but he's played in just 38 games since being promoted to the team last season, averaging 2.2 points and 1.5 rebounds over 6.7 minutes per contest.
