With the Los Angeles Lakers suffering from season-ending injuries to Steve Nash, Julius Randle, Kobe Bryant and Ronnie Price, the team received a hardship exception and used it to add Jabari Brown to their roster.
— Think You Know Everything About Kobe Bryant? Take The Ultimate Kobe Quiz! —
After an impressive stint with the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, Brown was signed to a 10-day contract last Tuesday and has done well since his call up. His strong play has led head coach Byron Scott sharing his wishes for Brown to receive another ten days with the Lakers via Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News:
Right now, I’d like to keep him for another 10 days and see how it goes,” Scott said. “I think he’s improved from what we had in the summer time to this time right now.”
Scott’s wish for Brown to continue his stint comes off the heels of the coach recently offering praise for Brown’s game. Following Sunday night’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Scott complimented Brown by saying he belongs in the NBA.
The biggest part of Brown’s growth comes to his aggressiveness. During the Lakers’ training camp, Brown didn’t show the coaching staff that facet. The Lakers kept him as an affiliate player, and Brown took the opportunity to shine with the D-Fenders.
In three games with the Lakers, Brown has scored a total of 21 points while hitting nine out of 15 shots. If he were to receive another contract, he should continue to see plenty of time with Nick Young still out with a fracture on his kneecap. Scott additionally wants to use the last month of the season evaluating players as the Lakers figure out who they want to keep during the upcoming off-season.
[divide]Lakers Rookie Jabari Brown On Why He Belongs In The NBA