Jabari Brown

Lakers Sign Jabari Brown To 10-Day Deal

1:55pm: The deal is official, the Lakers announced. The team also confirmed that it used a hardship exception to add Brown without dropping anyone, so the Lakers now have 16 players.

1:19pm: The Lakers have a 10-day deal “in the works” with shooting guard Jabari Brown, as coach Byron Scott told reporters, including Bill Oram of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports first reported that the Lakers planned a 10-day contract with Brown (Twitter link). It appears the Lakers are using the hardship exception they had intended to apply for so that they can add a player to their 15-man roster without dropping someone, though that’s not immediately clear. Brown has been playing for L.A’s D-League affiliate, as Wojnarowski notes.

Brown, who went undrafted out of Missouri this past June, was on the Lakers’ NBA roster during the preseason after signing a non-guaranteed training camp deal, but he played only nine minutes total during the preseason and failed to make it to opening night. The Lakers retained his D-League rights, and the first-year pro has impressed, averaging 24.4 in 34.9 minutes per game with a 39.2% three-point percentage for the L.A. D-Fenders.

The ability to add a 16th player is triggered when a team has four players who are expected to miss significant time, and when Ronnie Price joined Steve Nash, Julius Randle and Kobe Bryant among the long-term wounded for the Lakers, an opportunity sprang forth. Nick Young has also been dealing with swelling in his knee, and Scott indicated that was part of the catalyst for bringing Brown aboard, too, notes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Twitter link).

Lakers Waive Jabari Brown, Roscoe Smith

The Lakers have officially waived Jabari Brown and Roscoe Smith, the team has announced. These moves cut down Los Angeles’ preseason roster count to 15 players, which is the regular season maximum. Neither player’s contract came with any guaranteed money, so the team won’t owe them any salary.

These players being waived comes as no surprise, and with the loss of Steve Nash for the season the Lakers are most likely going to be in the market for point guard help, if they in fact decide to make another addition to their roster.

Smith went undrafted out out of UNLV, and is a bit undersized for his natural position of power forward. He spent his first two years of college at UConn before transferring. His career collegiate numbers were 7.1 PPG, 6.3 RPG, and 0.4 APG. His career slash line was .452/.279/.698.

Brown, who led the SEC in scoring during the 2013/14 campaign , went undrafted in June after departing Missouri after his junior year. He averaged 19.9 PPG and shot 41% from beyond the three point line during his final year with the Tigers. Both players could be candidates to head to the D-League, though that is just my speculation.

And-Ones: Pistons, LeBron, Contract Details

The Pistons have a new direction as a franchise now that Stan Van Gundy has taken over as team president and head coach. In their season preview the crew at Basketball Insiders don’t see the team becoming contenders just yet, and their predictions have Detroit finishing either third or fourth in the Central Division.

Here’s more from around the league:

  • Nuggets signees Joe Alexander and Marcus Williams, new Lakers Keith Appling, Jabari Brown, Roscoe Smith and Jeremy Tyler, Heat additions Andre Dawkins and Shawn Jones, Wizards wing men Xavier Silas and Damion James, and Hasheem Thabeet of the Pistons are all on non-guaranteed one-year contracts for the minimum salary, as Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders details (All four Twitter links here).
  • LeBron James might be gone from Miami, but he takes with him a number of lessons the Heat organization taught him about professionalism, Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes. James is a much different person than when he was with the Cavs the first time, notes Windhorst, and the additions of Shawn Marion, Mike Miller, and James Jones are indications that Cleveland wants to bump up the work ethic and preparation habits of their younger players.
  • When asked about departed free agent Trevor Ariza, who left the Wizards to sign with the Rockets this summer, Marcin Gortat believed Ariza’s decision wasn’t about finances, tweets Jorge Castillo of the Washington Post. Gortat said, “In my opinion I think he was trying to get back to the West. I don’t think it was about the money.”

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Lakers Sign Jeremy Tyler, Jabari Brown For Camp

The Lakers have added Jeremy Tyler and Jabari Brown to their roster for training camp, the team announced today, while also confirming the official deals for Keith Appling and Roscoe Smith. After adding Wayne Ellington yesterday, the team’s roster now stands at 18 heading into camp, with 13 of the spots occupied by fully guaranteed contracts. The Lakers training camp roster should eventually balloon to 19 or 20, according to Mark Medina of the L.A. Daily News (via Twitter).

Tyler is a three-year veteran who has spent time with the Warriors, Hawks and Knicks since being drafted by Charlotte in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft. Tyler and Ellington were two of five players to work out with the Lakers earlier this month. Tyler was waived by the Kings a week prior after being dealt to Sacramento by the Knicks in August along with Ellington, coincidentally. The 23-year-old power forward has averaged 3.6 points and 2.6 boards over 104 games in his NBA career.

Brown, who led the SEC in scoring in 2013/14, went undrafted in June after leaving Missouri following his junior season. The shooting guard averaged 19.9 points and shot 41 percent from three for the Tigers last season en route to a first team all-SEC selection. He was a college teammate of fellow Lakers rookie Jordan Clarkson, who signed with the team in August.

Draft Notes: Bucks, Wiggins, Payton, Hood

Bad news for Joel Embiid and Dante Exum.  Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry says that it would be “hard to take Embiid” given his foot injury and indicated that it’ll come down to either Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins, according to Charles F. Gardner of the Journal Sentinel.  Here’s the latest draft news from around the league..

  • League sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports that the Kings are seriously considering Louisiana-Lafayette product Elfrid Payton Jr. at No. 8 and few expect him to slip past the Magic at No. 12.
  • Duke sharpshooter Rodney Hood is back with the Hornets for a second attempt at a workout tomorrow, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (on Twitter).  Hoops Rumors chatted with Hood back in May about the draft process and his NBA goals.
  • K.J. McDaniels will also receive a second audition for the Hornets and he’ll be joined by UCLA’s Jordan Adams, Missouri’s Jabari Brown, Jarell Eddie of Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh’s Lamar Patterson (Twitter links).
  • Former North Carolina wing P.J. Hairston is working out today for the Bulls, who may end up trading one or both of their first-round picks, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.  Chicago is currently slated to pick at Nos. 16 and 19.
  • Former Syracuse forward C.J. Fair will audition for the Thunder today, the Pistons tomorrow, and the Nets on Wednesday, Zagoria tweets.
  • The Bulls have Michigan State’s Adreian Payne matching up against Chad Posthumus of Morehead State in a workout today, according to Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops (via Twitter).
  • The Wizards will look to take the best player available when they’re called at the podium but J. Michael of CSNWashington.com hears that they’re favoring size.

Draft Notes: Embiid, Exum, McDermott, Stauskas

Joel Embiid has suffered a right foot injury, reports Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com, and there’s fear that it’s broken, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The Cavs discovered the injury during his physical exam with the team, it’s prompted Cleveland to want to work out Dante Exum, Wojnarowski says (Twitter link). Agent Arn Tellem tells fellow ESPN scribe Chad Ford that Embiid probably won’t be doing any more workouts before the draft (Twitter link). He was to have auditioned for the Bucks later this week, Goodman notes on Twitter, though the Bucks haven’t heard from Embiid’s camp about whether the workout is canceled or not, according to TNT’s David Aldridge (on Twitter).  Tellem told Andy Katz of ESPN.com that he’ll know more about the injury on Friday, as Goodman notes in his piece, so while the top of the draft hinges on tomorrow’s news on Embiid’s foot, here’s more on the wider field of prospects:

  • Representatives from the Kings, Nuggets, Wolves and Warriors observed Doug McDermott and Nik Stauskas work out Wednesday in Chicago, Ford tweets.
  • C.J. Fair will audition Monday for the Mavericks, reports Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (Twitter link).
  • The Magic are bringing Kendrick Perry in for a second workout, reports David Pick of Eurobasket.com (Twitter link). Perry will also audition Saturday for the Wolves, along with Roscoe Smith, Joe Jackson and Taylor Braun, tweets Michael Scotto of SheridanHoops.
  • Isaiah Austin, Aaron Craft, T.J. Bray, Eric Moreland and Daniel Miller are the previously unreported prospects who are showing off for the Raptors today, the team announced via press release. Austin is fresh off an audition on Wednesday for the Clippers, according to Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Twitter link).
  • Jabari Brown, Markel Brown, Devin Oliver, Khyle Marshall and Xavier Munford are among those working out for the Celtics today, notes Chris Forsberg of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Oliver reportedly auditioned for the Celtics last week, too.
  • The Kings will audition Michael Dixon on Monday, Scotto tweets.

Draft Notes: Cobbs, Rockets, Gordon, Jazz

We rounded up the draft news this morning and this afternoon, but there’s plenty of new info still coming out. Here’s the latest:

  • Justin Cobbs had a workout with Warriors today, tweets Diamond Leung of Bay Area News.
  • The Rockets brought in Iona guard Tre Bowman for a workout, reveals Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv (on Twitter).
  • Aaron Gordon will work out for the Celtics, tweets Baxter Holmes of the Boston Globe. Boston is reportedly “locked in” to big man with the No. 6 pick.
  • Patric Young, Jordan Adams, T.J. Bray, Alec Brown, and Jabari Brown will work out for the Jazz, the team announced (on Twitter).
  • The Hornets’ workouts tomorrow will include Jordan Bachynski, Justin Jackson, Alex Kirk, Daniel Miller, Dwight Powell, and D.J. Shelton, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter links).
  • Jordan Clarkson made a strong impression during his workout for the Suns, observes Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic (on Twitter).

Draft Notes: Wiggins, Jazz, Randle, Sixers

The debate over how the top three picks of the 2014 NBA Draft will shake out has been covered ad nauseam at this point, and NBA.com’s Scott Howard-Cooper throws his hat in the ring by examining what could dictate where Kansas’ Andrew Wiggins will land. Meanwhile, here are some other draft-related updates:

  • Along with Nick Wiggins (brother of Andrew), the Jazz will work out Deonte Burton, Jordan Clarkson, Alex Kirk, Sean Kilpatrick and Artem Kilmenko on Thursday morning, tweets Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune. The Jazz have three picks on June 26, including two in the first round (5 and 23).
  • As Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders opines, just because Julius Randle is no longer widely classified within the top tier of this draft class isn’t reason enough to sleep on the talented Kentucky forward, who still has a shot at becoming a top-5 pick.
  • In a separate story, Kennedy writes that there is no confusing how much is riding on this talent-rich draft for the Sixers, who are the only team with two top-10 selections (3 and 10). Adding two franchise cornerstones to go with Michael Carter-Williams and Nerlens Noel could make Philadelphia an attractive landing spot around the league, according to Kennedy.
  • After working out for the Hornets today, Northwestern’s Drew Crawford is scheduled to work out with the Kings, Jazz and his hometown Bulls, according to the Wildcats’ Twitter feed.
  • The Nuggets will have Michigan State’s Gary Harris and Mizzou’s Jabari Brown in town for a workout on Thursday, tweets Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post. Denver picks at 11, 41 and 56.
  • According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter), the Magic will work out Randle, Aaron Gordon and Noah Vonleh individually before the draft. They will also work out Dante Exum at some point and are expected to bring in Marcus Smart for a second look.  Orlando picks at 4 and 12.

Eastern Rumors: Heat, Stephenson, Draft

Chris Bosh made comments in March that seemed to indicate that he knew LeBron James would remain with the Heat for next season, but Dwyane Wade said Monday that the team’s trio of stars haven’t spoken with each other about this summer’s free agency. Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press has that and more, including the latest from Bosh, who reiterated his own plans, once more making his intention to stay with the Heat clear.

“I want to come back. That’s OK to say, I think,” Bosh said. “I can’t speak for anything else and I don’t want to take away from the subject at hand, but I like it here. It’s Miami. Enough said. People are dying to get here.”

While we wait to see if James and Wade are just as enthusiastic about Miami as Bosh is, here’s the latest from around the Eastern Conference:

  • Lance Stephenson‘s agent, Alberto Ebanks, is hopeful that he and the Pacers will reach agreement on a new deal this summer, as Ebanks tells Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. Still, Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird said Monday that while he wants Stephenson back, he added that the team will set a price point for the shooting guard and won’t exceed it, Zagoria notes.
  • K.J. McDaniels, Jabari Brown, Drew Crawford, Lamar Patterson and Scottie Wilbekin are among the prospects scheduled to work out for the Hornets on Wednesday, according to Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Wilbekin returns for a second time after performing for the team Monday as part of a group that included Justin Cobbs, Langston Hall, Sean Kilpatrick and Ian Miller, as Bonnell also notes. (All Twitter links).
  • An ankle injury scrubbed Jahii Carson‘s scheduled audition for the Raptors today, observes Holly MacKenzie of Sportsnet (Twitter link).

Draft Notes: Robinson III, Gordon, Williams

The 2014 NBA Draft is less than a month away. Here are the latest notes:

  • The Timberwolves will be holding pre-draft workouts for Keith Appling, Nedim Buza, Jabari Brown, Jerami Grant, Dwight Powell and Scottie Wilbekin, the team tweeted.
  • Aaron Gordon tweeted that he’d be returning to Boston in a “couple of weeks” for a pre-draft workout with the Celtics. The forward out of Arizona is a projected lottery pick and Boston holds the sixth and 17th overall picks in June’s draft.
  • Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders runs down the worst first-overall draft choices in NBA history.
  • Kendall Williams participated in a pre-draft workout for the Suns today, reports Zac Walberer of NBA.com. The point guard out of New Mexico is projected as a possible late second round draft pick.
  • Glenn Robinson III has workouts scheduled for next week with the Rockets and Suns, reports Mark Snyder of The Detroit Free Press. Robinson is projected as a late first round selection.
  • HoopsHype released their latest Mock Draft.
  • Noah Vonleh, Elfrid Payton, Tyler Ennis and Marcus Smart are scheduled to work out for the Kings next week, reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (Twitter links).
  • Ronald Roberts worked out for the Sixers today, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. The power forward out of St. Joe’s is a projected second rounder in this year’s draft.
  • Chaz Williams is scheduled to work out for the Raptors next Wednesday, reports Josh Newman of SNY.tv (Twitter link).