Tag: Moses Brown

Should the Lakers consider Moses Brown for a roster spot?

Could the Lakers have part of their solution to their center problems on their summer league roster?

The Los Angeles Lakers’ summer league stint is now complete, and while they got off to a poor start, they finished by winning three games in a row. Along the way, a few of their bigger names started to prove they have real potential.

Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, shot badly in his first four games. But he went 10-of-21 from the field and 3-of-8 from 3-point range in his last two games to go along with the excellent defense he has shown at times. Dalton Knecht, the No. 17 pick in last month’s draft, has some dry spells, but he displayed the ability to consistently hit from the perimeter, both off the dribble and in catch-and-shoot situations.

But another bright spot that some fans may have overlooked is Moses Brown. The 7-foot-2, 260-pound center who played one season of college basketball at the University of California, Los Angeles was recently added by L.A. to its summer league roster, and he has looked impressive at times.

While not a real scoring threat, Brown gives 100% while boxing out for rebounds, and he does a good job of throwing his weight around while boxing out. He has also occasionally blocked shots, and his ability to snatch offensive rebounds and establish deep post-up position has also allowed him to get some easy baskets.

Brown has the last five seasons in the NBA and the G League after going undrafted in 2019. While he has rarely gotten more than spot duty, he’s just 24 years of age, so perhaps he still has some potential as a backup center.

A backup center who defends, rebounds and throws his weight around is one of the Lakers’ biggest weaknesses right now. Perhaps Brown isn’t the complete answer to that deficiency, but perhaps he could help in that regard for about 10-15 minutes a game.

The Lakers seem to be prioritizing player development as an organization right now. Brown has some work to do in terms of positional defense, but if he has the work ethic, desire and will to improve, they could possibly help him improve as a player.

It seems they have been wanting to get younger over the last couple of players. Why not invite Brown to training camp and see if he has what it takes to help plug their hole at the center spot?

Lakers end summer league with third straight win

Although the Lakers won’t be playing for the summer league championship, they did end their trip to Las Vegas on a positive note.

Because of their 2-2 record in the Las Vegas summer league at the end of this week, the Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled for one more game: a “consolation” game on Saturday versus the Chicago Bulls.

Their coaching staff decided to sit out Bronny James, Dalton Knecht and Maxwell Lewis, arguably their three best players, which may have led one to think they would lose this final contest.

Instead, Los Angeles came out red hot, going 12-of-18 from the field while hitting all seven of its 3-point attempts in the first quarter as it took a 39-18 lead. Although it cooled off considerably over the next two quarters, it still ended the game with a 107-81 victory.

A number of unsung heroes played well for the Lakers and made this win possible.

Guard Blake Hinson started the day in excellent fashion, scoring 21 points in the first half thanks to some very hot outside shooting. Although he went cold in the second half, he still had 25 points in 26 minutes.

Quincy Olivari, a guard from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio, ripped the nets for 20 points while going 6-of-13 from downtown. Grayson Murphy, a 6-foot-3 guard who went undrafted in 2022 out of Belmont University, registered 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

Center Moses Brown once again did some admirable work on the boards. He finished with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocked shots in 15 minutes.

Summer Lakers are still winless after losing to Celtics on Monday

The Lakers’ summer league squad continued to play poorly on Monday, this time against the Celtics.

When will the real summer league Los Angeles Lakers stand up? When will men such as Maxwell Lewis, Dalton Knecht and Bronny James play well on a consistent basis, on both ends of the floor?

That could take a while, judging by the fact that the Lakers put forth yet another weak all-around performance on Monday against the Boston Celtics.

Despite falling behind 14-4 due to some putrid shooting, Los Angeles fought back to come to within two points at the end of the first quarter. But that was the last time this game was competitive. Boston won the second quarter 31-17, and L.A. was never able to legitimately fight back, resulting in a 88-74 loss.

Including the California Classic, the Lakers are now 0-5 in summer league play this year.

While there were flashes of promise from some of their key players, virtually none of them were able to put together anything resembling a complete game.

Maxwell Lewis: Early on, Lewis got hot in the second quarter, going 4-of-8 in the period and hitting three 3-pointers to score 11 points. He did a good job of mixing up his offensive attack by occasionally slashing into the paint off the dribble.

But after halftime, the forward missed all three of his shot attempts. While he has some potential to become a useful player, he still needs to put in plenty of work.

Dalton Knecht: Knecht scored a team-high 19 points, but he was hot and cold throughout. With the Lakers struggling mightily to produce points in the third quarter, he hit three shots in a row, but it was just about the only time all night he found any offensive rhythm.

He finished 7-of-21 from the field, although he also had three rebounds, three steals and two assists. It seems Knecht forced quite a few shots and that the Lakers didn’t really run any plays or sequences for him.

Bronny James: It is starting to get painful watching James try to get acclimated to pro basketball. He came into this contest 6-of-26 overall and 0-of-12 from downtown. On Monday, he was 1-of-5 overall and 0-of-3 from beyond the arc, and he even air-balled a couple of shots.

The 19-year-old finished with two points, three rebounds and one assist.

Moses Brown: Perhaps the only true bright spot for L.A. was the play of center Moses Brown. The 7-foot-2 24-year-old did a pretty good job of throwing his weight around in the paint, and he tallied 11 points, six rebounds and one blocked shot in 15 minutes.

On one play, he made a nice effort to secure an offensive rebound, then exploded for a dunk. He also made the effort to draw fouls, and he went 3-of-4 from the free throw line.

The Lakers’ next summer league game will be on Wednesday against the Atlanta Hawks. You can see their complete summer league schedule here.

Lakers have added Moses Brown and Trent Forrest to summer league roster

The Lakers will have two additional players joining them in Las Vegas for the start of the NBA’s main summer league.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ summer league team hasn’t gotten off to a good start. It lost all three of its games in the California Classic after some inconsistent play at both ends of the floor, and it will now head to Las Vegas for the main summer league, which will start on Friday.

Despite the losses, a couple of the Lakers’ players, including Dalton Knecht, Colin Castleton and Maxwell Lewis, have shown flashes of promise.

On Thursday, the team added two new players to evaluate in Las Vegas: center Moses Brown from the University of California, Los Angeles and guard Trent Forrest from Florida State University.

Brown, a New York City native who is 7-foot-2 and 258 pounds, has spent five seasons in the NBA and has career averages of 5.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 0.6 blocked shots in 11.9 minutes a game. He has gone back and forth at times between the NBA and the G League, and the last NBA team he played for was the Portland Trail Blazers this past season.

In his four NBA seasons, Forrest has averaged 2.8 points, 1.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds in 11.6 minutes a game while shooting 18.5% from 3-point range.

Both players went undrafted out of college.

On this day: Vincent, Lewis drafted; Horford/Walker/Brown trade; Spector passes

On this day, the Boston Celtics took Sam Vincent and Ralph Lewis in the 1985 NBA draft, the team traded Kemba Walker for Al Horford and Moses Brown, and Al Spector passed.

On this day in Boston Celtics history, the team took two players of note in the 1985 NBA draft that was held in the Felt Forum in New York. With their first selection (No. 20), the Celtics took 6-foot-2, 185-pound point guard Samuel Vincent out of Michigan State.

A native of Lansing Michigan, Vincent played two seasons for Boston (1985- 1987), winning a championship with the Celtics in 1986 as a reserve guard. The former Spartan averaged 3.4 points and 1.2 rebounds per game per 7.8 minutes of play per game over the two seasons he was with the team.

Vincent left Boston when he was dealt with Scott Wedman to the Seattle SuperSonics for draft considerations in 1987.

Brooklyn Nets have signed center Moses Brown to a second 10-day contract

The Brooklyn Nets have signed center Moses Brown to a second 10-day contract, according to a statement by the team on Tuesday.

The Brooklyn Nets have signed center Moses Brown to a second 10-day contract, according to a statement made by the team on Tuesday. Brown’s initial 10-day contract expired on Monday after being signed to the deal on Mar. 17. Brown came to the Nets after being waived by the New York Knicks on Mar. 12.

Brown, in his fourth season out of UCLA, has played only one game for the Nets since being on the team. That game came in Sunday’s 119-106 loss to the Orlando Magic. Brown came into the game during garbage time (came into the game with 3:53 left in the fourth quarter with the Magic leading 115-122) and picked up one steal and one turnover in 4 minutes of playing time.

While not officially confirmed by anyone within the Nets’ organization, it appears that Brown was signed to apply pressure to second-year center Day’Ron Sharpe. Sharpe has responded to the challenge well by averaging averaging 9.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 57.5% from the field in the six games that he’s played in since Nerlens Noel was signed as Brooklyn’s initial attempt to find a backup center.

Since Brown has been out of the rotation since he was signed, it’s possible that this is just to keep the motivation on Sharpe. However, it’s also possible that Brooklyn has plans for Brown down the line with the postseason fast approaching.

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Nets’ Moses Brown’s 10-day contract has expired; should he get another?

How should Brooklyn address the backup center spot with Moses Brown’s 10-day deal having expired?

Brooklyn Nets center Moses Brown‘s 10-day contract has expired. The Nets have the option to re-sign him to another 10-day deal. Should they? Brooklyn signed Brown to his first 10-day contract on Mar. 17 as they were looking for a backup option to play behind standout center Nic Claxton.

The Nets’ initial attempt to fill that role was Nerlens Noel. Noel signed his 10-day contract on Mar. 6 and played in three games. When Noel did not meet the needs of the Nets of being an effective backup center, instead of turning to second-year center Day’Ron Sharpe, they turned to Brown.

Brown played in only one of five games that he was with the team for and for the one game that he appeared in, a 119-106 loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday, he played a little under four minutes of garbage time and picked one steal and one turnover. Based off that information, the Nets should not bring Brown back as they may have found their backup center: Sharpe.

Since Noel was signed to the roster, Sharpe has played in six games. In those games, he is averaging 9.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 57.5% from the field. Sharpe has looked impressive in the minutes that he has played since Brooklyn began this experiment and it looks like they got the effort out of him that they wanted to see. However, if you ask Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn, it seems that Brooklyn was doing it just to get a look at Noel and Brown. It seems that the Nets were just trying to light a fire under Sharpe.

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Nets’ Moses Brown reacts to being a member of his childhood team

Moses Brown is happy to be a Net after growing up as a fan of the team.

Brooklyn Nets center Moses Brown spent most of his life in New York as he was a fan of the Nets even as he became a standout player at Archbishop Molloy high school in Queens. Ever since he left New York City to play for UCLA and eventually play in the NBA, he still remained a fan of the Nets and was hoping to be able to play for his city again like he did as a kid.

That opportunity came on Mar. 17 as he signed a 10-day contract with the Nets. Brown, 23, is in his fourth year in the league and even though he has already been on six teams, he feels that he can make an impact for his team if given the chance. The 7’2″, 245 LB center is essentially getting an audition to be the backup center behind standout starter Nic Claxton. Brooklyn has been trying to find a backup center that it is comfortable with come playoff time and unfortunately, Nerlens Noel did not fit the bill as he was let go after just one 10-day deal.

Brown has a unique chance to make an impact for Brooklyn as he is the tallest player on the roster by far. He has three inches on Claxton and reserve center Day’Ron Sharpe (both are listed at 6’11”). The Nets have a rebounding problem that they are trying to fix (28th in the league in defensive rebounding percentage at 73.8%) and they are hoping that Brown can help with that problem. Brown reacted to being a part of the Nets during practice on Saturday as he told reporters in part according to Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post:

“I’ve been on a lot of teams all over the country, and it’s just cool to be home. Every time we would drive throughout Brooklyn, I would watch the Barclays Center’s progress every year. That was the new team. I remember, growing up, just liking the colors, the uniforms, everything.”

Brown also reacted to what he believes is his next chance to find his place in the NBA:

“Just be ready. That’s been the thing with my career, anyway: being able to defend the rim and play with a high energy. This was pretty much the main [offer] and the situation seemed better than the other ones. I’m familiar with a lot of the guys on the coaching staff and even on the team.”

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Brooklyn Nets sign center Moses Brown to 10-day contract

The Brooklyn Nets have signed center Moses Brown to a 10-day deal according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

The Brooklyn Nets are signing center Moses Brown to a 10-day contract, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype. This attempt by the Nets to find a competent backup center to starting center and DPOY candidate Nic Claxton comes after not signing center Nerlens Noel to a second 10-day contract.

Brown was most recently waived by the New York Knicks on Mar. 12 after signing a two-way contract with them on Mar. 8. Before that, Brown was waived by the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 17. The fourth-year player out of UCLA played 34 games for the Clippers this season and averaged 4.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 63.5% from the field.

The 7’2″ 245 LB Brown is known for his ability to finish at the rim and strong rebounding chops. He isn’t much of a defender, but he is a big body that could gives Brooklyn some semblance of rebounding off the bench. It appears that Brooklyn is looking for options outside of incumbent center Day’Ron Sharpe to fill the bench big role.

All the players who could wear a No. 6 jersey in 2022-23 after the NBA’s plans to retire it to honor Bill Russell

The league recently announced plans to retire Russell’s No. 6 jersey across the league to honor the Celtics great, but some players are excepted.

The NBA and Boston Celtics plan to honor Hall of Fame big man Bill Russell for his unparalleled career in the league and his dedication to fighting for civil rights and social justice by retiring his No. 6 jersey league-wide.

The move — unprecedented in league history — honors the singular life Russell lived on and off the court. Russell was the NBA’s ultimate winner with a record 13 titles to his name as a player or player-coach. He also  achieved or was a part of many milestones, including being a part of the first all-Black starting five and the first Black head coach in league history. Through it all, he used his platform to fight for others in a time when that put his career at great risk.

The players in the league wearing No. 6 jerseys in 2021-22 will be allowed to continue to do so until they either switch to a new number or retire from the game. Let’s take a look at the players who could wear that jersey number next season.