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Lorenzo Brown Will Play In China

February 10th, 2019 at 8:32am CST by Arthur Hill

China will be the next stop for former Raptors point guard Lorenzo Brown, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Brown, who was waived in January, has signed a contract with the Guangzhou Long Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association.

Brown appeared in 26 games for the Raptors this season, averaging 2.1 points and 1.1 assists in 8.2 minutes per night. He spent 2017/18  as a two-way player for Toronto, getting into 14 NBA games, then signed a standard contract last summer.

Brown, who was named MVP of the G League last year, was a second-round pick by the Timberwolves in 2013. He also had brief stops with the Sixers and Suns.

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Raptors Waive Lorenzo Brown

January 7th, 2019 at 11:21am CST by Arthur Hill

The Raptors have placed guard Lorenzo Brown on waivers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Like other players who were waived today, Brown had a contract that would have become fully guaranteed by 5pm Eastern.

The reigning G League MVP, Brown was a two-way player for Toronto last season before signing a standard contract over the summer. He appeared in 26 games this year, averaging just 2.1 PPG in 8.2 minutes per night. The 28-year-old has also played for the Sixers, Timberwolves and Suns.

If Brown decides to return to the G League, his rights are held by the Pistons’ affiliate in Grand Rapids, notes Adam Johnson of 2 Ways and 10 Days (Twitter link).

The move leaves Toronto with 13 players, one below the league minimum. The team will have two weeks to add to its roster.

The Raptors’ luxury tax projection falls from $34.5MM to $32.2MM, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Brown received $800K in guaranteed money on his deal.

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Atlantic Notes: Sixers, R. Williams, L. Brown, Raps

October 31st, 2018 at 2:31pm CST by Luke Adams

In order to maximize their potential, the Sixers will need to find a way to improve their floor spacing and outside shooting, writes Dave Zarum of Sportsnet.ca. Asked after Tuesday’s loss to Toronto about the 76ers’ shooting woes, Joel Embiid replied, “Last year we had some really good shooters and this year we don’t have them.”

Philadelphia does still have some reliable long-distance marksmen on its roster, including J.J. Redick and Robert Covington, but the team has missed Ersan Ilyasova and Marco Belinelli in the early going. Assuming Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz don’t turn into outside threats overnight, the Sixers will need more out of Dario Saric, who has made just 23.4% of his three-pointers so far this season.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

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Atlantic Notes: Faried, L. Brown, Raptors, Celtics

August 21st, 2018 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

As first reported by Valerie Gordon of 27East.com, new Nets power forward Kenneth Faried was arrested in Bridgehampton on Sunday morning and was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of marijuana, a misdemeanor for those allegedly possessing more than two ounces of marijuana. The Nets know about the situation, according to Anthony Puccio of NetsDaily, who confirmed the initial report.

“We are aware of the situation involving Kenneth Faried and are in the process of gathering more information at this time,” the Nets said in a statement.

While it’s possible the arrest could eventually lead to a modest fine or suspension for Faried, it’s fairly minor as far as criminal incidents go. It’s unlikely to have a major impact on the veteran’s on-court availability during his first season with the Nets.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

  • Although Lorenzo Brown‘s one-year contract isn’t fully guaranteed, the Raptors view the veteran guard as a roster player, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. According to Lewenberg, Brown is a good bet to be Toronto’s 14th man and the club probably won’t start the year with 15, meaning camp invitees like Chris Boucher and Kay Felder are long shots to make the regular season squad.
  • The Raptors‘ acquisition of Kawhi Leonard is a roll of the dice that could represent either a new beginning for the franchise or the beginning of the end of the club’s recent run of success, writes Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders.
  • The Celtics will enter the 2018/19 season as the favorites to win the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference, but the Raptors and Sixers won’t make things easy. A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston identifies five keys that could help Toronto or Philadelphia knock off the C’s next season.
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Raptors Sign Lorenzo Brown To One-Year Deal

July 20th, 2018 at 2:22pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 20: The Raptors have officially signed Brown, the club announced today in a press release. The one-year deal is partially guaranteed, per Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic (Twitter link).

JULY 17: The Raptors are finalizing a one-year contract with guard Lorenzo Brown, Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports tweets.

Brown played on a two-way contract with the club last season and earned G League MVP honors for Raptors 905.

The 6’5” Brown appeared in 14 games with the Raptors last season, averaging 2.3 PPG in 9.9 MPG. Brown, 27, has bounced around the league since he was drafted in the second round by the Timberwolves in 2013. He has played for the Sixers, T-Wolves and Suns, logging a total of 77 career NBA appearances. He’s a career 37.5% shooter overall and just 15.4% from long range.

Brown dominated in 32 G League starts last season, averaging 18.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 8.8 APG and 1.8 SPG.

The Raptors have opened up some roster spots over the past week by waiving forward Alfonzo McKinnie and rescinded their qualifying offer to another forward, Malcolm Miller.

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Raptors Convert Lorenzo Brown To Standard NBA Contract

April 11th, 2018 at 9:55am CST by ChrisCrouse

APRIL 11: The Raptors have formally converted Brown’s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal, the team announced today (via Twitter). Toronto now has a full 15-man roster heading into the postseason — two-way player Malcolm Miller is the only Raptor who won’t be eligible for the playoffs.

APRIL 10: The Raptors will sign Lorenzo Brown for the remainder of the season, according to Blake Murphy of Raptors Republic. Brown is currently on a two-way deal with Toronto.

The point guard won the G League’s Most Valuable Player Award this season, appearing in 32 games for the Raptors 905. He averaged 18.8 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game while playing for Toronto’s NBAGL affiliate.

By having his contract converted, Brown will be eligible to play for the Raptors in this year’s NBA postseason. Players on two-way deals are not eligible for postseason play, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors recently detailed.

Toronto had an open spot on its 15-man roster, so no corresponding move will be required to make room for Brown.

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Lorenzo Brown Named 2017/18 G League MVP

April 10th, 2018 at 1:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Raptors 905 guard Lorenzo Brown has been named the NBA G League’s Most Valuable Player for the 2017/18 season, the league announced today in a press release. The NBAGL’s 26 head coaches and general managers voted on the award.

Brown, 27, has played for various G League teams since the 2013/14 campaign, having been named an All-Star twice. However, 2017/18 was arguably his most successful overall season in the G League. In 32 games for Toronto’s G League affiliate, the veteran guard averaged 18.8 PPG, 8.8 APG, and 5.2 RPG, making 46.8% of his shots from the floor.

Brown is currently on a two-way contract with the Raptors, appearing in 14 games this season for the NBA club. According to Basketball Insiders’ data, Brown’s two-way deal is only for one year, meaning he’ll become a restricted free agent this summer.

The Raptors 905 are currently down 1-0 to the Austin Spurs in the G League’s best-of-three Finals, so Brown will have a chance to lead the club to a series comeback beginning on Tuesday night — he’ll also receive his MVP trophy before tonight’s game. If the Raptors’ affiliate can extend the series, the deciding game would take place on Friday.

Current Warriors guard Quinn Cook and current Knicks guard Trey Burke finished second and third, respectively, in G League MVP voting.

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Raptors Sign Lorenzo Brown To Two-Way Contract

July 25th, 2017 at 1:22pm CST by Luke Adams

The Raptors have filled the second two-way contract opening on their roster, announcing today in a press release that they’ve inked free agent guard Lorenzo Brown. Malcolm Miller received the club’s other two-way deal earlier this month.

Brown, a second-round pick in 2013, appeared in 63 total NBA regular season games for the Sixers, Timberwolves, and Suns between 2013 and 2016. Last offseason, the 26-year-old battled for the Pistons’ third point guard spot in training camp, but lost out and was waived by the team.

After failing to earn a spot on Detroit’s regular season roster out of camp, Brown played in Russia and China. He eventually returned stateside and joined the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons’ D-League affiliate, with whom he averaged 23.6 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 4.0 APG in 11 games down the stretch this season.

For more details on how two-way contracts work, be sure to check out our breakdown here. We also have a tracker that shows how teams are using their two-way openings.

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Pistons Unable To Waive Beno Udrih, Sign Lorenzo Brown

April 10th, 2017 at 11:45am CST by Luke Adams

11:45am: The Pistons won’t be waiving Udrih and signing Brown after all, tweets Shams Charania of The Vertical. According to Charania, league rules dictate that Sunday was the deadline for Detroit to cut Udrih and have him pass through waivers, so the Pistons were unable to complete the pair of transactions, despite the fact that Brown had been set to join the team.

As Bobby Marks of The Vertical explains (via Twitter), multiple teams finish their regular season on Tuesday, so not every team would have the opportunity to claim Udrih if he were to clear waivers on Wednesday.

10:05am: A source tells Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link) that the Pistons signing Brown and cutting Udrih is “possible, but complicated,” so we’ll wait to see whether the team is able to make it official today.

9:46am: The Pistons will make a change at point guard with just two games left in the season, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that the team will cut Beno Udrih and sign Lorenzo Brown.

Udrih suffered a right knee injury on Sunday, and hadn’t been expected to be available for the Pistons’ last couple games this week, so the move is designed to get a healthy body in to back up Ish Smith at the point guard position. Udrih had been on a one-year, guaranteed deal, so being waived now won’t affect his salary or his summer outlook. For the season, Udrih recorded 5.8 PPG and 3.4 APG in 39 games (14.4 MPG) for Detroit.

As for Brown, he returns to the Pistons after a 2016/17 season that saw him make a number of stops. After failing to earn a spot on Detroit’s regular season roster out of camp, Brown played in Russia and China. He eventually returned stateside and joined the Grand Rapids Drive, the Pistons’ D-League affiliate, with whom he averaged 23.6 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 4.0 APG in 11 games down the stretch this season.

With Udrih out, the Pistons could have inserted Reggie Jackson back into their rotation for the final two games of the season. However, head coach Stan Van Gundy suggested last night that Jackson likely wouldn’t be an option, since the team had already committed to shutting him down for the season, as Rod Beard of The Detroit News details.

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And-Ones: Buyouts, Referees, Lorenzo Brown, Lottery

March 3rd, 2017 at 11:00am CST by Arthur Hill

Some team executives have proposed changing the buyout process that favors successful organizations, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. That inequity was on display this week as the Cavaliers added Deron Williams and Andrew Bogut and the Warriors picked up Matt Barnes after Kevin Durant was injured.

Possible solutions include moving the date that players have to be waived to retain postseason eligibility to before the trade deadline or creating a “buyout wire.” The wire would allow teams with cap room to bid on players who get bought out, with the highest bidder winning regardless of the players’ wishes. Early Bird rights could even be tied to this system to encourage more bidding, Lowe states. If there are no bidders, then teams over the cap would be allowed to pursue the players, possibly in reverse order of record.

There’s more news from around the basketball world:

  • The NBA announced several initiatives Thursday to improve the quality of officiating, relays Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press. The league will introduce an Officiating Advisory Council and will expand the number of referees from 64 to at least 70 next season. There are also plans to change their travel schedule and the system of evaluation. Overseas officials will be among those considered for NBA jobs. “Twenty-five percent of our players now are international or not born in the U.S., so why shouldn’t we try to match some of that in terms of talent coming from international flavor into the ref population as well?” said Byron Spruell, the president of league operations.
  • Lorenzo Brown, who has played for three teams in three NBA seasons, has signed a contract with the D-League, tweets Chris Reichert of The Step Back. The Grand Rapids Drive, Detroit’s affiliate, owns the rights to the 26-year old point guard, who had been playing in China. Brown spent eight games with the Suns last season. He has also played for the Sixers and Wolves.
  • Joel Brighham of Basketball Insiders examines whether teams on the postseason bubble are better off making the playoffs or getting a lottery pick.
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