While Boston Celtics point guard Kemba Walker, along with rookies Tacko Fall and Grant Williams, have been the talk of the town this offseason, the last month has seen Celtics guard-forward Jaylen Brown become one of the hottest topics in New England.

He’s got the look of a player ready to have a breakout season and, to make matters more interesting, he has until Oct. 21 to agree to a contract extension with the Celtics. If they fail to reach an agreement before Monday’s deadline, which marks the start of the 2019-20 regular season, Brown will become a restricted free agent next offseason.

As one might expect, when asked about Brown has often given familiar and cliche answers about not being worried about it. While it’s undeniable that the upcoming season will become the primary focus of the bulk of players, the discussion of tens of millions of dollars and that player’s long-term future can’t possibly be far behind.

However, in an interview with the New York Times’ Marc Stein, Brown was far more candid when discussing his contract extension and his thoughts about getting a deal done before the deadline.

“Everybody says that they’re not concerned with it, but in some way, shape or form they are,” Brown, in a recent telephone interview, said of contract talks. “But to be honest, it’s really not overwhelming me or ruling my thoughts. I know what type of talent I have. I’m confident in myself. I’m confident in my ability.

However, “it’s not something that’s keeping me up at night,” says Brown.

Brown was apparently concerned enough about the negotiations to hire an agent for the first time in his career, saying that the move was “best” for him when confirming his hire of agent Jason Glushon. However, this is for good reason, as it’s difficult to determine just how much Brown should be paid when his development had not happened as rapidly as expected.

For all his moxie, athleticism, defensive potential and raw talent on the offensive end, he hadn’t developed the type of court vision, ball-handling or jump shooting ability that sets stars apart from starters on the perimeter.

Brown has shown major improvements as a facilitator and ball-handler this offseason but to this point in his career, he’s only shown himself to be a starter, if a high-level one.

So it should be expected that when executives from the both conferences weighed in on Brown’s on-court value, they offered a variety of answers.

An anonymous Western Conference executive says he wouldn’t give Brown a max extension — worth about $170 million — and at least one Eastern Conference executive agrees, though another Eastern Conference executive believes he could play his way into a max contract.

2020’s relatively barren free agent field bodes well for Brown’s leveraging ability but the Celtics also need to plan for rising star Jayson Tatum’s eligibility while determining if Brown will be one of the best players — not just one of the best young players — over the next five-plus years.

Because that’s what they’d be paying him to be.

At times, he’s shown that ability, specifically in the 2018 Eastern Conference Playoffs when he averaged 18.0 points per game (while shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 39.3 percent from three) while guarding superstars like LeBron James.

And he didn’t necessarily regress last season, considering he was dealing with a hand injury and a decrease in playing time — and scoring opportunity — with the returns of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, along with the expectations placed upon Tatum to be the team’s second option.

However, there’s no doubt that Brown has a lot to prove and more to prove than Tatum.

In the back of his mind, at the very least, Brown knows that.

This upcoming season will be pivotal for the Georgia native and if he has a breakout year, Boston may just break the bank to keep him. Another less than stellar year though, and Brown could end up on another team next offseason, trying to live up to a max contract and the expectations that come with it.