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Should Lorenzo Brown Be Given A Chance At Backup PG?

By Aaron Mah

Mar 23, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Lorenzo Brown (7) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 23, 2015; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Lorenzo Brown (7) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports /
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Injuries suck. The idea that your favorite team fails to reach their maximum potential because the basketball gods hate your team, well, it sucks.

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However, through all the losing and misery, borderline NBA players — fighting for their professional lives, in an effort to stave off the possibility of returning back to the D-League — get their opportunity to prove their worth on injury-stricken squads.

Without the recurring ailments suffered by Nikola Pekovic, Ricky Rubio, and Kevin Martin, guys like Lorenzo Brown, Justin Hamilton, and the holy trinity of Jeff Adrien / Miroslav Raduljica / Arinze Onuaku would have had to endure a prolonged wait for their promotion to the big leagues.

While some thrived in their unsettling role — namely Brown, Adrien, and Hamilton — others struggled with the spontaneity of their playing time (*note to Raduljica: next time you get called up, concentrate more on executing the game-plan as opposed to comparing your tattoos with the team’s other token Eastern European big man).

With Rubio missing nearly three-quarters of the season due to his nagging severe ankle sprain, in conjunction with rookie Zach LaVine‘s struggles at handling the foreign responsibilities of an NBA point guard; the self-proclaimed Minnesota Timberwolves “COP” (coach, part owner, and President of Basketball Operations), Flip Saunders, called up Lorenzo Brown from the D-League.

Brown is a 6-foot-5 (in shoes) second-year point guard who was actually drafted by the Wolves in the second round of the 2013 NBA Draft.

Mar 18, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Grievis Vasquez (21) collides with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Lorenzo Brown (7) during the second half of the Raptors 105-100 win at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 18, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Raptors guard Grievis Vasquez (21) collides with Minnesota Timberwolves guard Lorenzo Brown (7) during the second half of the Raptors 105-100 win at Air Canada Centre. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports /

After an impressive summer league performance with Minnesota, the Timberwolves would be forced to cut the former NC State Wolfpack due to its logjam at the point guard position circa the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign.

As such, Brown latched on to the Philadelphia 76ers for part of last season, backing up their then-prized rookie, Michael Carter-Williams. Spearheaded by his poor outside shooting, though, he would end last year in the D-League, after the Sixers reassigned him back to the Delaware 87ers.

As fate would have it, in late January, the Timberwolves would sign Brown to a 10-day contract. He immediately showed his worth as a backup point guard, showcasing his poise in running the offense while hounding opposing ballhandlers with his unremitting on-ball D.

Sure enough, shortly after signing his second 10-day, the Wolves would trade veteran guard, Mo Williams, to the Charlotte Hornets; thereby, freeing up playing time at the point for, both, LaVine and Brown. Shortly thereafter, Minnesota signed Brown to a two-year deal, where his contract for next season is fully guaranteed.

Looking forward to next year, the question now becomes whether or not Brown deserves a shot at being the Wolves’ resident backup point guard.

Pros:

By having Brown backup Rubio, the Timberwolves roster will enjoy the fruits of continuity. More specifically, in many ways, Brown is a poor (or homeless, depending who you ask) man’s Ricky Rubio in that he is a tenacious on-ball defender, and a pesky, disruptive off-ball hustle player with above-average vision at the point guard position.

While his assist rate doesn’t jump off the page, the Wolves offense does perform better with Brown leading the pack. In fact, the team scored over 5.0 points per 100 possessions more when Brown was running the show, per Basketball-Reference.com.

Team
SplitMPeFG%ORB%DRB%TRB%AST%STL%BLK%TOV%ORtg
On Court548.49524.371.647.957.28.96.516.1107.0
Off Court3413.46327.071.648.559.68.56.515.7102.0
On − Off14%+.032-2.7+0.0-0.6-2.4+0.4+0.0+0.4+5.0

Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/6/2015.

Cons:

Much like Rubio, Brown is an unproven outside shooter.

It’s bad enough that, in 2015, your starting — and franchise — point guard puts on an invisible blindfold every time he attempts a three; by slating Brown in as his primary backup, the Wolves would essentially punt the thought of enjoying three-point makes from their point of attack.

More explicitly, not only did Brown attempt a lowly 1.8 threes per 36 minutes last season; overall, he shot an anemic 21.4 percent from beyond the arc. Not surprisingly, he scored on a TS% (true shooting percentage) of just 46.8 percent and averaged a measly 8.0 points per 36 minutes.

It wouldn’t hurt having a change-of-pace, of sorts, type of lead guard coming off of the bench for Rubio, as oppose to a less-competent carbon copy. While it may change the Wolves offense completely when Ricky is resting, it’ll give Minnesota a much-needed jolt of offense — ideally paired alongside, either, LaVine or Shabazz Muhammad.

Conclusion:

If the Wolves brass do decide to go into training camp with Rubio, Brown, and (gasp) LaVine as their trio of lead guards, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

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    • Giving Brown another opportunity to prove he can knock down outside shots, to go along with his defense and point instincts, could curate a cost-effective option for the Wolves at backup PG.

    Given his skill set, though, he is better served as a third string point. His inability to score at a league-minimum level is a glaring issue.

    With that being said, if an opportunity arise to move up in the draft, and select the handful of guards projected to go within the mid-to-late first round — such as Cameron Payne, Jerian Grant, and of course, Minnesota’s own, Tyus Jones — then, no, Brown should not be the backup point going into next year.

    Contrarily, if the Wolves fail to acquire a young, prospect point guard via the draft or trade, then — as opposed to bringing in a veteran lead guard — Minnesota should give Lorenzo Brown his much deserved shot to serve as the Timerwolves’ primary reserve floor general.

    Next: Top 5 Games Of Timberwolves' 2014-15 Season

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