SATURDAY, 12:43pm: The signing is official, the Lakers have announced.
FRIDAY, 8:36am: The Lakers will re-sign Jabari Brown to a second 10-day contract on Saturday, reports Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link). Brown said he spoke with GM Mitch Kupchak and confirmed that’s the plan to reporters, including Mike Trudell of Lakers.com (Twitter link). Coach Byron Scott had said minutes earlier that he anticipated Brown would be back, according to Pincus (on Twitter). Scott expressed his desire on Thursday afternoon for the team to re-sign the shooting guard.
A second deal for Brown presumably means the NBA has granted the Lakers another 10-day hardship exception to carry a 16th man on the roster. That was the allowance the league provided when the Lakers inked Brown to his first 10-day contract even though they already had 15 players. Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Julius Randle are all out for the season and Ronnie Price is probably in the same situation, giving the Lakers enough injured players to qualify to apply for the extra roster spot. Nick Young also remains out with a small fracture in his left kneecap.
Brown’s initial contract expired after Thursday’s game. Waiting until Saturday to sign a second 10-day deal enables the Lakers to have him for their game on March 30th against the Sixers without having to sign him for the balance of the season. The rookie has played a prominent role, averaging 7.0 points in 20.0 minutes per contest over four games on his first 10-day contract.
I like this as well for the Lakers. Keep this guy close. Invite him to summer league and camp. He along with Clarkson could be a couple of diamonds in the ruff.