The Los Angeles Lakers are planning on signing Jabari Brown to a 10-day contract, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Brown has played on the Lakers D-league affiliate, the D-Fenders, putting up solid numbers. This could be a reaction to Nick Young's absence following his knee injury.
This is the first 10-day contract of the season for the Lakers, and is a sensible one. Our Dakota Schmidt pointed to Brown as a potential filler for Nick Young while Young missed time at the start of the season, and Jabari also played with the Lakers during training camp and preseason.
Brown's played in 39 games for the D-Fenders, averaging 24.4 points and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 39 percent from beyond the arc. He's not a ball-handler, but he can help the Lakers scoring off the bench. Jabari is also a former teammate of Jordan Clarkson at Mizzou and the guards formed a special friendship, as beautifully profiled in this article from Tully Corcoran of Bleacher Report:
Just two years ago, they were strangers living almost 2,000 miles apart. But today, Clarkson says, "That dude is like my brother."
Their bond was sealed over a hellish 34-day stretch in which Clarkson and Brown-a pair of transfer guards who became Missouri's leading scorers-found out their fathers had cancer and decided the best thing they could do was be quiet, be strong and only show vulnerability within the walls of the apartment they shared together in Columbia, Missouri.
One day, Clarkson walked down the hall to Brown's room.
"If you ever see me with my head down or something, man," he said, "just pick me up and talk to me."
Neither is a big talker, but Brown said all Clarkson needed to hear.
"He said he had my back," Clarkson said
That alone is worth giving Brown a chance to develop with Clarkson, but he's also a gifted scorer and this will allow the Lakers an opportunity to get a closer look at someone they've already integrated into their development system.
Also, dude dropped 50 points, so why not: