Jaylen Brown is in the middle of one of the messiest offseasons of his career. The Boston Celtics missed out on Giannis Antetokounmpo after the Milwaukee Bucks preferred the Miami Heat’s offer. And reports have since emerged that the Celtics remain actively engaged in trade talks involving Brown.
The last thing he needed was a damaging evaluation of his ability leaking. But that is exactly what happened when ESPN’s Bobby Marks appeared on SiriusXM NBA Radio and dropped a stunning assessment of how at least one analytics department around the league views the 2024 Finals MVP.
Bobby Marks Reveals Harsh Reality Check About Jaylen Brown’s Trade Value
Marks explained that Brown’s trade value has gone down and reported what an analyst told him. He said, “I had one, not an executive, but an analytics guy saying, ‘Yeah, we view them as like the seventh best player on a team.”
“There’s mixed feelings about him.”🤯@BobbyMarks42 tells @BGeltzNBA and @SamMitchellNBA the market for Jaylen Brown isn’t as robust as it might seem.
Listen to the full show: pic.twitter.com/zSSafnruY9
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) June 27, 2026
The reality is that this isn’t Marks’ opinion or anything close to it. In fact, he did mention that he was unsurprisingly shocked by what he had just heard from the analyst. The report comes at the worst possible time for Brown.
The last thing he would need right now is for people to diminish his trade value, and he may be staying in Boston, where he may not be wanted, as recent speculation claims.
Brown started crashing out after reading Marks’ comment. He said, “Analytics nowadays used to discredit and control narratives – Roll the ball out none of these guys better than me on both ends who does he work for.”
Marks then pointed out that he would want the Celtics star on his team, and that he doesn’t prefer analytics. He also added that Brown would surely help any team in the league win a championship, citing his impactful winning record in the last four years ((191-80 in the last 4 years).
Nobody has won more combined regular season and playoff games since I entered the league 10 years ago
— Jaylen Brown (@FCHWPO) June 27, 2026
Brown then posted on X, “Nobody has won more combined regular-season and playoff games since I entered the league 10 years ago,” before claiming that analytics are ‘ruining’ hoops right now. He also asked Marks to state his source and identify the analyst who made the comment.
Brown stepped up massively this season in the absence of Jayson Tatum, who was recovering from an Achilles injury. He matched his career-high with 50 points against the Clippers in January, earned his fifth All-Star selection and his first as a starter, and averaged 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.1 assists across the regular season.
MORE: ‘Higher Than My Pay Grade’ – Celtics Guard Gets Brutally Honest On Jaylen Brown Trade Rumors
Stephen A. Smith, who has been Brown’s vocal critic in recent times, also came to his defense today.
The ESPN analyst wrote on X, “Now this is utterly ridiculous. I have no doubt that [Bobby Marks] was told what he said he was told (He’s incredible at what he does), but there is no way in hell [Jaylen Brown] is the 7th-best player on any team in the NBA. He may be the best 2-way player in the league. Yes, it’s me saying this. Folks be on some b.s. Stop It!”
Brown is understandably frustrated with the criticism. He has arguably been the best two-way player in the league in the last two years. It surely doesn’t make much sense to claim that he would be the seventh-best without providing the stats to back it up. It would be interesting to see if Mark would reveal his source, and this could take another dramatic turn.