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A look at Troy Brown Jr.’s potential with the Lakers

robert marvi
·5 min read
2

The Los Angeles Lakers made some solid signings in free agency this summer, most notably centers Damian Jones and Thomas Bryant.

However, a couple of their other signings have been head-scratchers to a certain extent, and one of them is Troy Brown Jr.

Brown, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound swingman, was the 15th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. At first glance, his numbers with the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls haven’t been the least bit impressive.

However, he showed some improvement this past season, and if he continues on that trajectory, he can become a useful player for the Purple and Gold.

Brown is an improving 3-point shooter

The University of Oregon product has a career accuracy of just 33.7 percent from 3-point range, and he has never shot 36 percent for an entire season from that distance.

However, in 2022, he showed some signs of growth as an outside shooter.

He finished the season at 35.3 percent from downtown, but that was after a very poor December, in which he shot just 17.6 percent from deep.

From Dec. 26 onward, Brown had a very strong mark of 37.9 percent from 3-point land in 48 contests while attempting 2.1 treys in 17.2 minutes per game.

His potential appears to be that of a catch-and-shoot player. According to NBA.com, he made 42.9 percent of his triples when wide open in 2022 (NBA.com defines “wide open” as being at least six feet away from the nearest defender).

Outside shooting has been a big point of emphasis for the Lakers. They finished this past season just 22nd in the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage, and adding more snipers is integral to their hopes of becoming a contender again.

Defense

Brown’s defensive numbers don’t exactly stand out, but he has the ability to hustle and make plays on that end of the floor.

By getting steals and deflections and showing good overall effort, he can help L.A. improve on that end of the floor when he is on the floor, especially since he has a 6-foot-11 wingspan.

When Brown was introduced to the media days ago, he said that he wants to be a versatile player who does whatever is asked of him to help his team win.

“Oh I definitely still have the playmaking, it’s just moreso what I’m asked to do. I think that’s the biggest thing is I’m definitely a team guy, I definitely wanna win,” Brown said during his introductory press conference.

“It’s one of those things where if I’m asked to be 3-and-D or I’m asked to be a playmaker I can definitely adjust. I think versatility is the reason I’m here in the NBA. I definitely still have it, I’m always working on it I just feel like as of right now I feel like I’ve been asked, like you said in Chicago, as of recently I’ve been asked to be more 3-and-D. So yea if the opportunity comes I’m definitely comfortable with the ball in my hand and being able to make plays but it’s just one of those things where whatever is best for the team, whatever is gonna get us the most Ws.”

Youth and athleticism

This past season, the Lakers were not only the oldest team in the NBA but also one of the oldest teams in recent memory, so much so that people around the league were cracking tired old jokes about the squad’s advanced age.

But now the team has gotten considerably younger.

Brown is just 22 years of age, and as one of a number of young free agents L.A. has signed, he can give the team a bit of the energy and juice it lacked in 2022.

Brown says he has talked to head coach Darvin Ham about helping the team return to the type of fast-breaking style it employed when it won the NBA championship in 2020.

“I think the biggest thing is just for us to be able to play fast. That’s the biggest thing that we’ve been talking about, just being able for me to get rebounds and outlet or being able to push the ball and then just spreading the floor and giving guys space. So I think all that kind of runs together and that’s definitely been talked about a lot.”

If Brown becomes something closer to the best version of himself next season, perhaps he will play a role in helping the Lakers return to Showtime.

Story originally appeared on LeBron Wire