Celtics Want Four First-Round Picks for Jaylen Brown. That’s the Asking Price.

Jaylen Brown just won Finals MVP a year ago. But the Celtics are fresh off a first-round exit and reportedly kicked the tires on a Giannis Antetokounmpo trade. So yeah, Brown’s name is floating around again. And now we know what it would cost to actually get him.

Shams Charania dropped the number Monday on ESPN’s Get Up. The Celtics have told at least some teams that they want four first-round picks for Brown. Not a player included in that math. Just picks. Four of them. Plus whatever else the other side would have to throw in to match salary.

Brown has three years left on his supermax deal. That’s a lot of money and a lot of commitment for any team trading for him. But the Celtics are acting like they’re in no rush to move him unless somebody blows them away. And four first-rounders is a blow-away number in today’s market.

Why Would Boston Even Listen?

The Celtics tried to swap Brown for Giannis earlier this offseason according to multiple reports. That didn’t happen. But the fact that they made the call at all tells you something about how the front office views this roster after getting bounced by the 76ers in the first round.

So now they’re left with a star player who hasn’t asked for a trade — ClutchPoints reported Brown hasn’t approached Brad Stevens about anything — but whose name is out there anyway. That’s an awkward spot for everyone involved.

Charania framed the situation as a question of urgency. Which side blinks first? The Celtics seem fine holding. Brown hasn’t pushed. The asking price is steep enough that most teams will hesitate. But if somebody meets it, Boston has to decide whether it’s ready to reshape the whole thing around Jayson Tatum or wait until the deadline when maybe that price comes down.

The Market Reality

Four first-rounders is a lot. Only a handful of teams have that kind of draft capital and the cap room to make a supermax contract work. The Thunder could do it but they already have Shai. The Rockets have picks. The Spurs have picks and a French guy who might be good. But does any of those teams view Brown as the final piece?

This feels like Boston setting an opening number it knows most teams will walk away from. But that’s the point. The Celtics don’t have to trade him. They just want to be ready if someone makes an offer that changes their math.

For now Brown is still a Celtic. That could change by August or it could not change at all. The four-pick demand makes it clear which outcome the front office is betting on.