Bobby Brown

Amir Johnson, Four Other Vets Join G League Ignite

Five veteran players have joined the G League Ignite, the NBAGL’s Select Team, the league announced today in a press release. Those vets are big man Amir Johnson, guard Bobby Brown, guard Reggie Hearn, forward Brandon Ashley, and guard Cody Demps.

The G League Ignite’s roster is made up of those five veterans and several young prospects, including Jalen Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Isaiah Todd, Daishen Nix, Princepal Singh, and Kai Sotto.

The program’s aim is to provide top prospects with an alternative path to college or international ball during the year before they become draft-eligible. The veteran players are meant to help provide leadership and stability as those prospects prepare for the NBA.

Johnson, 33, is the most notable name among the Ignite’s additions. He has appeared in a total of 870 regular season games since making his debut in 2006, averaging 7.0 PPG and 5.4 RPG in 21.1 minutes per contest for the Pistons, Raptors, Celtics, and Sixers. He didn’t play in the NBA last season after making 51 appearances for Philadelphia in 2018/19.

Brown also has a solid NBA résumé, having made 158 total regular season appearances since 2008 for five NBA teams. The 36-year-old guard also has extensive international experience, spending time in leagues in Germany, Poland, Greece, Italy, China, Turkey, and Montenegro.

Hearn, Ashley, and Demps are G League veterans — of the three, only Hearn has played in an NBA regular season game, logging limited minutes in three contests for Detroit during the 2017/18 season.

It remains to be seen exactly what the NBA G League’s 2020/21 season will look like, but the Ignite – led by head coach Brian Shaw – have already begun training in Walnut Creek, California.

Xavier Munford, Bobby Brown Expected To Play In China

A pair of players who logged NBA minutes last season are expected to sign with teams in China, reports Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. According to Carchia, former Bucks guard Xavier Munford is set to sign with Fujian to replace Eugene “Pooh” Jeter, while Bobby Brown will likely sign with Shanxi to replace Josh Adams.

Munford, 26, was a two-way player for Milwaukee last season, but only appeared in six games for the Bucks. He was impressive in the G League, averaging 24.4 PPG and 5.2 APG on .509/.444/.747 shooting in 34 games for the Wisconsin Herd. That performance earned him a two-way qualifying offer in June, but the Bucks withdrew that QO in September, making him an unrestricted free agent.

As for Brown, he signed a deal earlier this month with KK Mornar Bar to play in Montenegro. However, as Carchia notes, that agreement included an exit clause, which Brown is expected to take advantage of to make the move to China.

Brown, a former Cal State Fullerton standout, appeared in 25 games for the Rockets in 2016/17 and 20 more in 2017/18. The 34-year-old played a limited role for the club, averaging 2.5 PPG and 0.6 APG in just 5.3 minutes per contest. He finished last season playing for Olympiacos in Greece after being cut by Houston in February.

Ex-Rocket Bobby Brown To Play In Montenegro

NOVEMBER 2: Brown’s one-year deal with KK Mornar Bar is now official.

NOVEMBER 1: Former Rockets guard Bobby Brown is getting close to reaching an agreement with KK Mornar Bar, a EuroCup team based in Montenegro, tweets Lithuanian reporter Donatas Urbonas (hat tip to Sportando). Assuming a deal gets finalized, it’s expected to include out clauses for China and the EuroLeague, Urbonas notes.

Brown, a former Cal State Fullerton standout, appeared in 25 games for the Rockets in 2016/17 and 20 more in 2017/18. The 34-year-old played a limited role for the club, averaging 2.5 PPG and 0.6 APG in just 5.3 minutes per contest.

Although he also played in the NBA from 2008 to 2010, spending time with four teams during that stretch, Brown has spent the majority of his professional career playing in international leagues, so a return to Europe comes as no shock. He finished last season playing for Olympiacos in Greece after being cut by Houston in February.

Ex-Rocket Bobby Brown Headed To Greece

Bobby Brown, who was waived by the Rockets last week, has reached an agreement to play for the Greek team Olympiacos, according to Eurohoops (hat tip to Sportando).

Brown, who appeared in 20 games this season, had hoped to re-sign with Houston for the rest of the year, but became expendable when the Rockets reached agreements with Joe Johnson and Brandan Wright following buyouts. Originally waived on January 5, Brown signed a rest-of-the-season deal with Houston on February 9, but was released three days later.

Brown, 33, is no stranger to the Euroleague, having played in Germany, Poland, Italy and Turkey. He also spent time in China before signing with the Rockets in 2016. He spent parts of two seasons in Houston, averaging 2.5 points in 45 games.

Rockets To Waive Bobby Brown

Despite signing Bobby Brown to a contract for the rest of 2017/18 on Friday, the Rockets will waive him to make room for Joe Johnson, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.

Johnson, who is expected to complete a buyout with the Kings, has committed to signing with the Rockets. With fellow Brandan Wright also expected to sign, Houston — with 14 players signed to guaranteed deals even before signing Brown — needed to clear roster space to accommodate the two incoming veterans.

Brown, 33, has appeared in 20 games with the Rockets this season, averaging 2.5 PPG. After playing internationally for six seasons, Brown returned to the NBA in 2016/17 to appear in 25 games with Houston.

Rockets Plan To Re-Sign Bobby Brown After Deadline

The Rockets waived Bobby Brown earlier in January, but the team hopes to re-sign him to its roster after the trade deadline passes, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. According to international basketball reporter David Pick (via Twitter), Brown flirted with the idea of signing with Barcelona, but now plans to reach a new deal with Houston after the deadline.

Brown’s previous contract was set to become fully guaranteed on January 10, so the Rockets decided to cut the veteran guard to maintain a little cap and roster flexibility. They’re currently carrying 14 players on standard NBA contracts, leaving one open roster spot. If Houston takes on an extra player in a deadline trade, it would complicate Brown’s return, but assuming the team still has an opening after February 8, it sounds like he’ll claim that spot.

Brown, 33, has spent parts of the last two seasons in Houston, playing sparingly. In 45 total games (5.3 MPG) with the Rockets, the well-traveled guard has averaged 2.5 PPG on .356/.333/.750 shooting.

Despite Brown’s modest contributions on the court, he’s viewed as a strong presence in the Rockets’ locker room. Accoridng to reports, he was one of the players – along with James Harden and Trevor Ariza – who was very involved in recruiting Chris Paul to Houston during the 2017 offseason.

Rockets To Guarantee Green’s Deal, Waive Brown

JANUARY 6, 12:37pm: Per Shams Charania of The Vertical, the Rockets would like to re-sign Brown later in the season for the rest of the year and the playoffs.

JANUARY 5, 12:35pm: The Rockets have officially waived Brown, the team announced today (via Twitter).

JANUARY 4, 9:42pm: The Rockets are expected to guarantee Gerald Green‘s contract, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. The deadline for the veteran’s currently non-guaranteed deal is this Sunday but the franchise has every intention of keeping him.

To free up roster space after committing to the 31-year-old offensive sparkplug, the Rockets will waive point guard Bobby Brown. With Green aboard and Brown released, Houston will have one free regular contract slot open for flexibility.

Brown, a 33-year-old veteran of multiple leagues, has seen action in 20 contests for Houston but has ceded playing time to Briante Weber of late. He could, Wojnarowski writes, end up back with the club on a 10-day deal.

Brown, like Green, had a non-guaranteed contract for 2017/18 and will need to be waived by the Rockets before January 7.

[RELATED: Complete list of players on non-guaranteed contracts]

Green has played five games for the Rockets since signing with the club in late December, averaging 21 points per game over his most recent four. He’s dropped 27 and 29 points in his last two contests.

Southwest Notes: Parsons, Canaan, Brown, Curry

Chandler Parsons may have won over Grizzlies fans with his 24-point performance in Saturday’s win over Houston, writes Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal. Beset by injuries and disappointing numbers since signing with Memphis in the summer of 2016, Parsons was being being booed on his home court as recently as last week.

“Tonight was just a night that we finally got to see Chandler,” Mike Conley said of Parsons, who has undergone three knee surgeries over the past three years. “He could finally be himself, be happy, be animated and just have the energy that we know he is capable of playing with. Will he do it every night? Who knows. But we will definitely take it.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

  • Trevor Ariza‘s unexpected return from injury made Isaiah Canaan expendable, relays Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The Rockets made the surprising decision to waive Canaan on Saturday, just four days after he was signed. Coach Mike D’Antoni explained that the team expected Ariza to be sidelined three to four weeks with a sprained left foot, but he recovered in a matter of days. “We’re disappointed because I know Isaiah was really excited about getting back with the Rockets,” said Mark Bartelstein, Canaan’s agent. “When they got the perimeter play of Trevor back, Daryl [Morey], the Rockets general manager called and said ‘I don’t think there’s enough minutes for us to just justify using up our cap flexibility.’ While we’re disappointed, we understand it. If there’s not an opportunity for Isaiah to play, they’re so tight up against it, it put them in a tough situation. They want to stay in close contact where if something were to happen with the roster and they have a need, I know he’s the first guy they’ll look at.”
  • The Rockets used Bobby Brown, rather than Canaan or Demetrius Jackson as their backup point guard in their last two games, Feigen writes in a separate piece. Jackson got the call after Chris Paul was hurt on opening night, but he has a two-way contract and is limited to 45 days in the NBA. The team wants to give him time to develop in the G League. Brown played just 25 games last season, but appears to be part of the rotation until Paul returns.
  • The prognosis for Mavericks guard Seth Curry remains week-to-week with a stress reaction in his left tibia, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Curry has been forced to rest since October 7 and is projected to return in mid- to late November. “I started shooting a little the past couple weeks,” Curry said. “We’re trying to let it heal and slowly ramp up what I can do. I’m trying to test it out as much as I can and make some strides each week. I just can’t do a lot of pounding on it.”

Rockets Re-Sign Bobby Brown

SEPTEMBER 25: More than two months after agreeing to terms with Brown, the Rockets have officially confirmed his new deal in a press release that announces the club’s 20-man training camp roster.

JULY 20: The Rockets have reached an agreement with free agent guard Bobby Brown, according to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Brown confirmed to Alykhan Bijani of ESPN 97.5 Houston (Twitter link) that he’s re-signing with the club.

Brown, 32, returned to the NBA last year for the first time since the 2009/10 season, joining the Rockets after spending several years playing in Europe and Asia. Although he was a standout scorer during most of his international stops, Brown didn’t play much for Houston in 2016/17, appearing in 25 regular season games and seeing just 123 total minutes of action. He also played limited minutes in five postseason contests.

While Brown didn’t make much of an impact on the court, it sounds like he has played a key role off it for the Rockets. The California native was said to be one of the key players involved in the recruitment of Chris Paul to Houston, along with James Harden and Trevor Ariza.

Brown’s contract with the Rockets expired in June, and he didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the club to make him a restricted free agent, so his efforts to get Paul to Houston looked a little unusual. It makes sense that the club would be willing to bring him back on a minimum salary contract — it remains to be seen whether he’ll get a full or partial guarantee on his deal, however.

NBA Players Who Still Aren’t Trade-Eligible

Most of 2016’s offseason signees became eligible to be traded on December 15, and 21 more had their trade restrictions lifted on Sunday. Now that we’ve passed January 15, nearly all of the players in the NBA are trade-eligible, but there are still a handful of guys who can’t be moved.

Generally speaking, a player who signs a new contract becomes eligible to be dealt after three months or on December 15, whichever comes later. That’s why players who sign deals in July are eligible to be traded after December 15. For those free agents who didn’t sign until later in the year though, there are different deadlines.

Here are the players who signed recently enough that they aren’t yet trade-eligible:

By the time those players have been under contract for three months, it will be after this season’s February 23 trade deadline, meaning they can’t be traded at all during the season. Dinwiddie, who has a multiyear pact with Brooklyn, could be moved in the summer, but Brown and Motiejunas have one-year deals, meaning Houston and New Orleans won’t get a chance to trade them.

Players who recently signed contract extensions also face certain restrictions. These restrictions don’t apply to the group of players that signed rookie-scale extensions prior to October 31, but they do apply to guys like James Harden and Russell Westbrook, who had their deals renegotiated and extended during the offseason. Harden and Westbrook can’t be traded for six months after signing those extensions.

Since Harden signed his new deal on July 9, he became trade-eligible last Monday, though of course he’s not going anywhere. Westbrook, who is also untouchable at this point, signed his extension on August 4, meaning his trade restriction will lift on February 4.

In addition to those four players, there are four more who are currently on NBA rosters, but can’t be traded. Those four guys are on 10-day contracts, which can’t be moved to another team. Here’s the current list of players on 10-day deals, via our tracker:

In total, by our count, there are eight players currently on NBA rosters (out of 443) who are ineligible to be traded. That doesn’t include players who can veto trades, but even after taking those guys into account, NBA teams should still have plenty of flexibility to make moves in the coming weeks.