It wasn't long ago that Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reported the Boston Celtics were offering Jaylen Brown a four-year, $80 million extension, which Brown had no intention of signing as he believed he could, and would, eventually land a deal somewhere north of $100 million. 

Turns out, Brown was right. 

On Monday, the Celtics and Brown agreed to a four-year, $115 million extension -- which, even if there are some large incentives baked into the deal, is a country mile from the initial report of what Boston was offering. This is not the way Danny Ainge typically does business, mind you. The last player he extended coming off his rookie deal, prior to that player becoming a free agent, was Rajon Rondo in 2009. 

But Boston's situation is different now. They weren't going to have any cap space next season, meaning the only impact players Ainge would've been able to sign were his own anyway. Why risk Brown entering restricted free agency and getting a max offer or some kind of crazy front-loaded contract that would put Boston in a pickle to match?

Brown's case for this kind of money is an interesting one. He's shown All-Star potential. He's a versatile two-way player in an era that places a premium value on such assets. His 2018-19 season wasn't the disaster it was largely portrayed to be; he played well over the second half after a horrific start. 

Even had Brown struggled this season, execs who spoke with CBS Sports believed that he would still get sizable offers on the open market not just for his versatility and upside, but for the fact that many of his struggles could theoretically be attributed to the chaotic conditions in Boston under the Kyrie Irving reign and the unsettled state in which that left Brown's game and role moving forward. In other words, he likely would've gotten the "change of scenery" benefit of the doubt. 

So, the Celtics lock up the guy they've refused to trade for years, which is another factor in this deal. How can you not error on the side of committing to a player you've refused to let go in potential deals for Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Jimmy Butler? That would be a tough pill to swallow to pass up on potentially getting a player of that caliber just to watch Brown walk anyway, or to trade him for, say, a Domantas Sabonis type. 

Speaking of which, Sabonis also signed an extension on Monday, agreeing to a four-year, $77 million deal with Indiana. Buddy Hield and the Kings also came to an agreement on a four-year, $86 million deal. Hield averaged over 20 points and five rebounds last year on just under 43-percent 3-point shooting. Brown has never put up close to those kinds of numbers, though his defense represents value that Hield can't match. 

Like the Celtics, the Kings were incentivized to lock up their guy because they can't rely on luring any big free agents, though for different reasons than Boston. These are, in many ways, team-specific deals for players who've proven to be good but not great. Brown, for his part, will get his chance to validate this huge commitment right away. Kyrie is gone. The Celtics feel loose again. Brown should be in the starting lineup with every opportunity to rediscover the budding-star abilities he showed throughout the 2018 playoffs when he helped lead an undermanned Boston team to Game 7 of the conference finals. 

That 2018 playoff run is, indeed, at the heart of this deal. It's the only period in which Brown has played at a consistent level that one could deem worth this kind of money. That's the Jaylen Brown that would've been in a lot of team's heads had he gotten to free agency next summer. That was the Jaylen Brown worth betting on. And that's what the Celtics have done here. They've doubled down on a guy they've long been betting on anyway. Time for Brown to provide the return on that investment.