If the Celtics are going to trade Jaylen Brown for draft capital, they want a whole lot of it, according to a new report from ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charania reported Friday on “Get Up” that, “in some cases, the Celtics have asked teams for at least four first-round picks for Jaylen Brown.”
Boston initially included Brown in its offer for Giannis Antetokounmpo, and the five-time All-Star has continued to appear in trade rumors since the Milwaukee Bucks rejected that proposal on Monday. The Celtics reportedly discussed a potential deal that would have sent Brown to Minnesota before the Timberwolves chose to acquire Charlotte Hornets guard LaMelo Ball instead.
Moving Brown for draft picks would, of course, not improve the Celtics’ roster for the upcoming season, unless they flipped some of those picks in subsequent trades or used their newly created salary cap space to sign an impact free agent.
“He’s got three years left on his contract at a supermax clip, so where does that put him as far as his value?” Charania said Friday. “And if this is a Boston team that’s been contending in the Eastern Conference and their potential ask for some teams is a package of picks and players, how have they reimagined this roster moving forward? Their finances, their viability as a contender in the Eastern Conference? I do think as of right now, time will tell which side will bring the urgency to this matter this offseason.”
Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens was noncommittal Tuesday when asked whether he expects Brown to remain with the franchise beyond this offseason.
“Jaylen Brown is a big part of us,” Stevens said. “I’m never going to predict the future, but every indication, everything that I think about over the past few years has been building around those guys, right? So obviously, you never know.
“But at the same time, the one thing I want to make very clear is how valued he’s always been. He’s been amazing. He’s been an amazing teammate, a great person to be around. And whether that run ends 10 years from now when he retires, or before, there’s a lot to celebrate. We have a great relationship, an open relationship where we talk about everything. But I don’t want to predict the future. I look at it as, this is our team.”