Off-Season Outlook: Shannon Brown

Up next in our series of player reviews is Smiling Shannon Brown, and why wouldn’t he be smiling since he just lucked into becoming an NBA champ?

2009 Recap:

It wouldn’t be a Lakers season if Mitch Kupchak didn’t find a diamond in the rough on the trade market.  This year that diamond was Shannon Brown who was acquired along with Adam Morrison for Vladimir Radmanovic.  Funnily enough, when the trade happened, everyone was more intrigued by the addition of Morrison, but it turned out to be Brown, thrown in strictly to make the cap numbers work, that ended up becoming a member of the Lakers rotation and possibly a decent part of the team’s future.

Brown really didn’t break out until the post-season when he was used to spell Derek Fisher from getting incinerated by Deron Williams.  Brown’s combination of size and athleticism allowed him to be a real asset on defense and allowed Brown to carve out a niche for himself in the Laker rotation.  The prospect of Brown evolving into a bigger part of the Laker future has some hoping that the Lakers waste no time in re-signing him this summer.

Of course, Brown really only played well for a few weeks while knowing that his career was basically on the line.  Let’s not forget that the Lakers are Brown’s fourth team since being a late-first round pick in 2006.  Had he flamed out as a Laker, he’d probably be updating his passport for Italy right now (if he was even that lucky).  So nobody should be surprised that he started getting after it on defense when given the chance for 18 regular season games and the playoffs.  If Brown continues to show that kind of edge, then the Lakers should be all for keeping him, but only at a very reasonable price.  A lot of seemingly worthless players have earned some big paydays after breaking out in the playoffs only to end up as total busts (see Austin Croshere, Jerome James, etc.).

Uh, question?  Can I please be overpaid?  No?  Dammit.

Homework:

If Brown wants to remain in the league beyond next season, he still has a lot of work to do on his game, so here are some assignments for him to take on this summer:

• Study geometery. One of the biggest problems most new Lakers have is learning the triangle offense; this is especially true of the Laker point guards.  Brown isn’t even really a point guard, so he has a much steeper learning curve then most.  Part of the reason he wasn’t utilized more is because his presence on the floor limits the Lakers’ offensive sets.  If Brown really wants to take a stranglehold of the back-up point guard position, he is going to have to know the triangle cold to remove that disadvantage.
• Don’t get too comfy. Shannon should be ecstatic to have finally found a hoops home for himself, but he better not get too used to it.  He is currently third on the depth chart at point guard with a number of rumors linking the Lakers to drafting yet another floor general in tomorrow’s draft.  If Brown starts taking his roster spot for granted and loses his tenacity, he might end up having to get that passport renewed after all.
• Become an actual point guard. As I pointed out earlier, Brown is really a shooting guard masquerading as a point guard.  The triangle offense doesn’t call for a playmaker at the point, but he needs to know something about running an offense and develop a passing mentality rather than shooting every chance he gets.
• Don’t be stupid. This one goes without saying, but Brown better not go and get cocky and try and parlay his post-season success into a slightly higher payday with some other team.  Brown has to know that the Lakers’ system is uniquely suited to his skill set and bolting for a little bit more cash seems destined only to land him with a team that doesn’t know how to user him, putting him right back where he was to start this year.

Tags: Player Review, Shannon Brown