Last season’s Euroleague scoring champion, Bobby Brown, has until August 15th to exercise the NBA out in the contract he signed in China with the DongGuan Leopards. With the deadline approaching, will the super scoring guard get a second chance in the NBA? The Knicks were considering him, but went for Beno Udrih instead. Will anybody else go after him in the next couple days?
Bobby Brown is a 28-year old, lighting quick, 6’1” point guard who can score at will in the international game. The guard out of Cal State-Fullerton demonstrates leadership, and can be a very strong weapon off the bench for a playoff team. While Brown has been the leader of his teams overseas, he transformed his game from being a Louis Williams type of undersized scoring guard, to becoming a true point guard that just so happens to possess excellent scoring ability.
With the free agent market dwindling, Bobby Brown could be a great late off-season addition for teams that need to add another guard to their rotation. Teams like Indiana, Utah, Chicago, Philadelphia and Sacramento, are all spots where Brown could show his true value, with his ability to run an offense, control the pace of the game, and assert himself at money time.
Last season, Brown, known among his peers as LB (Little Bobby), took a big step up in his career with Montepaschi Siena, a top Euroleague team that took the Italian Series A title this past season. Brown had some dazzling performances, most notably his 41-point game against Fenerbahce Ulker in what was the 16th best single game point total in Euroleague history, and one of only 22 40+ point games in the history of the league.
While Brown’s 18.3 points a game in the Euroleague certainly turned some heads, his real progression was as a point guard. Formerly a scoring guard who could play the point, LB took ownership of the position to the tune of 5.3 assists (in a league where assists are not doled out generously by the statisticians), but more importantly, he took command of the offense, making great decisions, and propelling the team to W’s down the stretch of close games.
With Siena playing in the same group as Maccabi Tel-Aviv, I got the chance to see LB play twice in Tel-Aviv this season, not including the many internationally televised games Siena played in on their Euroleague campaign. While his speed and agility are always impressive in the flesh, what most impressed me was his focus and ability to control the flow of the game. He is the type of player who when you see him live, you scratch your head and wonder, “How is this guy not in the NBA?”
Bobby previously had turned a fantastic rookie year with German powerhouse Alba Berlin into a shot with the Sacramento Kings in 2008. While he showed real scoring ability in the Summer League, and in the small glimpses he got in Sacramento, Minnesota, New Orleans and with the L.A. Clippers, LB has never received the opportunity to play an integral role on a team in his brief career.
After his cup of coffee in the NBA, Bobby Brown inked back in Europe to play with Asseco Prokom Gydinia (Poland) of the Euroleague for the 2010-2011 season. With the team struggling at the onset of the Euroleague, and the club facing financial issues, LB parted ways with the team in December of 2010. He then moved to Aris Thessaloniki, where he played under Israeli coaches Sharon Drucker and Matan Harush. Playing in the Greek League, Brown adjusted very well to playing in arguably the most physical league in Europe. While this was a tough season for Brown, playing on two top clubs that had the difficult combination of both financial issues and pressure for success, it was also the year that helped Brown elevate his game to the level it’s at now.
Brown demonstrated this when he moved to EWE Baskets Eldenburg, making the return to Germany, where he had excelled in his rookie year. Brown led Germany in scoring, averaging 16.9 points a game, while also showing much improved leadership and point guard skills. His superb play in both the German League and the Eurochallenge caught the eye of many Euroleague teams, helping him get back to the Euroleague spotlight with Siena.
While his road to the NBA has been long, and sometimes bumpy, LB has put himself in position to have a very strong second half of his career.
If he is given another shot at the NBA, it appears he is ready to make the most of the opportunity.
However, if his name should not be called before August 15th, he will still be a rich man, since he will be paid handsomely as one of the best American’s hooping overseas.
But he deserves better.
Trust me, I’ve seen it first-hand.
AJ Mitnick is an American living in Israel and working for Maccabi Rishon Lezion of the Israeli Basketball Super League. A graduate of IDC Herzliya, Mitnick also blogs at mindlessdribble.net and is pursuing a pro basketball coaching license from the Wingate Institute in Israel. Follow him on Twitter.