I was having a conversation with an NBA coach last Thursday, discussing that evening’s potential draftees. When I told him I thought the Celtics were seriously considering Jaylen Brown at No. 3, he offered caution.

“I’m not sure about that guy,” he said. “He could be a little too intellectual.”

Huh?

“He might be too smart for his own good,” he said.

Stunned by the comment, I simply replied, “That’ll never be a problem for either one of us,” and moved on.

The line of thinking made the rounds last week in the days leading up to the dispersal. Brown was even asked about it Wednesday, responding that he just likes to learn and that he probably wouldn’t want to play for any team that thought that way about him anyway.

“I don’t know what that’s about,” Brown’s father, Marcellus, told the Herald, clearly uncomfortable with such criticism of his son. “I care not to comment on that.

“He achieved very well academically, and I’m very proud of him. And whatever he does from here on out, I’m sure it’d be because he has a sound education.”

We’ve heard the “too smart” knock on Brown expressed in relation to Rajon Rondo, but he and Brown are different in some critical regards. While Rondo had a spit-in-your-eye stubbornness that helped him overcome his detractors, get him to the NBA and power his thin frame into some mindblowingly incredible performances, that attitude could also turn against him when he failed to accept proper criticism and at times wouldn’t address his weaknesses.

Brown, on the other hand, has stated quickly that he has much to learn about the professional game and is committed to working as hard as it takes to improve.

Rondo would take such statements as a sign of weakness.

“I think with intelligence and confidence, it’s kind of misconstrued,” said Jaylen’s mom, Mechalle. “It doesn’t equal arrogance. It just means that somebody’s intelligent and he wants to ask questions and gather information. That’s what it’s all about. It’s understanding and gathering information.”

Jaylen Brown clearly doesn’t want to be seen as just a jock, nor should anyone. Where Michael Jordan’s competitiveness and need for such stimulation not only made him one of the greatest players in history but also led him into gambling, Brown seems to enjoy competing with his own level of knowledge.

During his pre-draft time in New York while others were taking in the more glamorous side of the city, Brown was at the Marshall Chess Club in Greenwich Village, where he ended up taking on a 9-year-old national age-group champion.

Piston great Isiah Thomas, one of Brown’s mentors, has heard the criticism. It is said that some coaches don’t like to deal with players who are so smart that they question things. On the other hand, those coaches want players who can quickly digest defensive schemes and hastily designed last-minute plays, translate them and execute the commands under high-pressure conditions.

“There used to be a time in our league where we valued that. We valued smart kids,” said Thomas. “We valued people who wanted to be educated, wanted to learn. And then, I don’t know how, but it became about the party scene, the fashion scene and all this other stuff. But the guys who went to school and the guys who wanted to play basketball are the guys that we liked a lot.

“You want people with a curious mind. You want smart people. I mean, truth be told, a lot of that same knock was on me. Like, he thinks he’s smart and all this. I hate to say it, but academically I was, so I’m sorry. Now was I too smart? Did I make mistakes? Yeah, we all did. But I think Jaylen Brown is a kid that came to New York and instead of going to the clubs, he was at the chess club. He’s just really a good kid.

“The people who say he’s too smart for his own good, have they met him? Have they spent any time with him?” added Thomas. “The kid who puts on a suit and tie and comes to an interview with a notepad, I kind of like that kid.”

While some coaches seem wary of players with that kind of intellectual curiosity, we have a feeling Brad Stevens will find Jaylen Brown a kindred spirit.