The Los Angeles Lakers reportedly are working toward signing veteran wing Sterling Brown to a 10-day contract.
Brown, 27, is currently playing for the Raptors 905 in the G League.
The Los Angeles Lakers are progressing toward a 10-day contract with five-year NBA veteran G/F Sterling Brown, sources tell me and @jovanbuha. Brown has played for Raptors 905 in G League this season and brings wing depth to the Lakers.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) January 6, 2023
The Lakers will bolster their wing depth by signing Brown, who has played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks in his NBA career.
A second-round pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2017 NBA Draft, Brown played in 49 games for the Mavericks last season, making three starts. He averaged 3.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game.
The Lakers have been in search of more shooting on the wing this season, and Brown has been a solid shooter from beyond the arc in his NBA career.
Over his five NBA seasons, Brown has shot 36.4 percent from beyond the arc on 2.6 attempts per game. He shot 42.3 percent from 3-point range in the 2020-21 season for the Rockets while making a career-high 14 starts in his 51 games.
Brown has never held a major role on a team, playing over 20.0 minutes per game just once in his five NBA seasons, but he has shown he can be a productive player in his career, averaging 5.4 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assist per game across 264 appearances.
It’s unclear if Brown will have an immediate role in the rotation once the team signs him to a 10-day contract, but he certainly will have a chance to push for one.
The Lakers could use more proven production around LeBron James and Russell Westbrook with Anthony Davis currently sidelined due to a stress injury in his right foot.
James has been playing at an All-NBA level again this season, but the Lakers are still below .500 and on the outside looking in of the playoff picture in the West.
However, Los Angeles has won three straight games to pull within 1.5 games of the No. 10 seed in the conference. The Lakers could make some noise if they at least make the play-in tournament this season.
Since the Lakers are giving Brown a shot on a 10-day deal, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Darvin Ham find some minutes for him to see if he’s worth keeping for the long term.
Brown will likely fight for minutes with Austin Reaves, Juan Toscano-Anderson, Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr. and others in the rotation.
