I want to give a shoutout to WEEI's afternoon show of 'Rich and Ken with Ted Johnson," who brought up an interesting point on Tuesday.

Rich said that Marcus Smart was a more appreciated member of the Boston Celtics than Jaylen Brown is, and basically, that if Brown were traded this summer, fans wouldn't necessarily realize how much they'd miss him as a player and that somehow his off the court personality is affecting the perception of him.

It is truly a fascinating point, so let's dive in a little bit.

The former No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft (2016), Brown is now a 10-year veteran of the Celtics. A career 20.0 ppg scorer, Brown has continued to evolve his game over the years, becoming one of the most impactful two-way players in the league.

He's now a five-time All-Star, a two-time All-NBA selection, an All-Rookie team member and he was the 2023-24 NBA Finals MVP.

He averaged 28.7 ppg this past season, doing much of his damage without Jayson Tatum as Tatum recovered from a torn Achilles. He helped lead the Celtics to the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference as they went 56-26.

I think that Celtics fans recognize how good Brown is and I think they genuinely appreciate his skillset and what he means to the organization. That said, remember the old 'Batman' line? "You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain?"

That's kind of the situation with Brown. He's been in Boston for 10 years, meaning there's been 10 years of little things that have piled up.

I'm personally not bothered by much of it, but some fans might be, which probably explains the radio hosts speculation. Brown has seemed moody at times, he's played the victim card in terms of how he's treated by fans and the media, and he's aligned himself with Kyrie Irving, an unpopular player in Celtics lore, over the last few years.

Furthermore, Brown was a top draft pick, meaning he came in with high expectations. While he's certainly hit - or exceeded most of them - some fans will never think he's accomplished enough to justify the draft selection or the max contract he's been given.

As the radio hosts said, Smart was beloved in Boston. Why? He played with more of an underdog style which people in the city can relate to. Never the fastest or the most athletic, and never with the biggest expectations, Smart simply played hard. It's the same reason why C's fans loved Isaiah Thomas.

Brown plays hard too, of course, Smart and Thomas have made it known how much they loved being Celtics, while Brown has always a felt little more at arms length with that appreciation. 

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