An 'Analytics Guy' Called Jaylen Brown a 7th-Best Player, and That's Why His Team Will Never Win
Holy smokes, you guys. The NBA trade rumors around Jaylen Brown are getting absolutely wild, and not in the fun, popcorn-eating way. We're talking about a situation so baffling it makes you wonder what some of these front offices are even thinking. One minute, Boston's supposedly building around Brown, adding pieces on the margins, and the next they're fielding calls for him? That’s confusing enough, right?
But then it gets even crazier when you hear how some folks around the league are valuing him. Brown just had his best pro season, and let's not forget he was Finals MVP just two years ago! Brad Stevens is out here asking for the moon, acting like he’s got prime LeBron James on the trade block, and honestly, good for him. Meanwhile, other teams, except maybe Portland who seems super interested, apparently aren't even close to that valuation. It feels like classic negotiation tactics, with teams trying to lowball through the media. We all expect them to meet in the middle, right? Well, buckle up, because one "evaluation" is so ridiculous, it demands we talk about it.
Trade on Every Game with Kalshi
Click Here to sign up to Kalshi — Free $10 when you sign up using our link or use code: ONTAPSEA. The only federally regulated prediction market in the US. Trade on real sports outcomes. Available in all 50 states.
The Analytics Take That Broke My Brain
You won't believe this. Bobby Marks, formerly the Nets' assistant GM and now on ESPN, was on SiriusXM and dropped a bomb of an evaluation about Brown. He quoted an "analytics guy," not an executive, who straight-up said, “the analytics of Jaylen Brown are not good.” Marks added, “there are some people out there that look at that more deeper than what the eye test says.” And then came the real kicker. This analytics whiz reportedly told Marks, “yea we view him as like a seventh-best player on a team.”
Seriously? Marks himself was like, "holy crap." And yeah, that's exactly the reaction you should have. A seventh-best player? Are we watching the same Jaylen Brown? The one who just posted his best professional season? The guy who was Finals MVP two years back?
This Take Is Why Some Teams Stay Losers
Look, we can have a real conversation about whether Brown is a number one or a number two option on a team. Heck, I'll even hear you out if you argue he’s a fantastic third option for a contender. But to suggest he should be the second player off the bench, the seventh-best guy on a squad? That’s not just a bad take, that’s an argument for why some teams just won’t ever truly become winners in this league. Anyone making that kind of assessment should probably reconsider their line of work because it’s among the worst evaluations of talent I have ever heard. No self-respecting 12 from the Emerald City would even entertain that idea.
The only way Brown is the seventh-best player is if we're talking about an All-NBA ballot, and guess what? Even there, he was voted sixth-best. Even if you want to split hairs and say media evaluations aren’t the same as team evaluations, there’s no universe where his talent ranks that low. This just gives Jaylen Brown all the ammunition he needs for his anti-analytics crusade, and honestly, who can blame him? Let’s hope for a saner resolution to this trade saga, because some of these valuations are straight-up insulting.
This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.