Stephen A. Smith‘s recent take has not ended well with Isiah Thomas. Jaylen Brown signed an extension over the offseason initially projected to be worth upwards of $300 million. Smith and the panel on First Take agreed that Brown is the most underrated player in the league. Later Smith revealed the sources’ information about Brown’s marketability.

“I wanted to read to y’all what an NBA source just sent me,” Smith said. “He said, ‘Jaylen Brown. It’s not so much that he’s underrated. It’s that he just not liked because of his ‘I am better than you attitude.’ He knows it. It’s the same reason he is not as marketable as he should be.’ That’s what an NBA source just sent me…I like Jaylen Brown I know a lot of people that like Jaylen Brown, but again when you think of marketability, that was that person was alluding to.”

However, Smith’s comment didn’t sit too well with Isiah Thomas who fired back with his opinion on X. “I have been a friend, mentor and advisor to @FCHWPO (Brown) since he was a student at UC Berkeley he is 100 percent marketable and before you slander his name @stephenasmith tell your source to put their name on it or don’t speak on it. Let it be known,” Thomas wrote.

His recent snub on an All-NBA team despite good performances also had the panelists debating. But Smith was sure he wouldn’t remove any current winners to add Brown to the mix. Marketability or not, Brown has certainly performed in the first three games of the Eastern Conference Finals. He’s averaging 30 points per game while shooting 52.3% from the field.

Is Jaylen Brown really underrated?

Brown is not the first person on the Celtics lineup that people talk about. Currently, Jayson Tatum is the superstar and other players are spoken around him. Irrespective of Brown’s perceived attitude issues, he has been a dominant force on both sides of the ball this season.

While there will be plenty of debate about Brown, it doesn’t change his stellar performance throughout the playoffs. He’s had some big scoring nights, like his 40-point night in Game 2. The Celtics are now just one win away from the NBA Finals.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what Shaq’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato had to say about the marketing genius, watch this video.