When the Minnesota Timberwolves balked at opting to pay for the option to have power forward Taurean Prince return to the Timberwolves roster for the 2023-24 NBA season, their motivation was not to part ways with him.
Rather, the Timberwolves wanted to make it a more team-friendly arrangement to allow the Timberwolves to extend and sign other players as well. Instead, Prince chose to sign on with the Los Angeles Lakers. In return, the Timberwolves responded by signing the Lakers former forward, Troy Brown Jr., to a contract.
But do you really know who Troy Brown Jr. really is? Do you know how he will make the Timberwolves even more competitive this year? Let’s discuss what we really know about him. He is a 6-foot-6 215-pound forward who was originally drafted by the Washington Wizards as the 15th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.
A player of many talents on many NBA teams
He played two-plus seasons with the Washington Wizards, one-plus seasons with the Chicago Bulls, and finally, one season with the Los Angeles Lakers. The best season of his career was his second season in the NBA, a year in which he averaged 10.4 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game for the Wizards. What many do not recognize is that his value has been more defense than offense.
But we’ll get to that momentarily. so where should we begin?
Well to start off, let’s pull up his exit interview from the Los Angeles Lakers:
Curiously, Troy Brown Jr. was frequently praised by Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham for his defensive presence. And while he did not return to their team, that defense is one of the reasons that the Timberwolves added him to the team.
One man, many roles
Due to a rapidly transforming Lakers roster, Brown was often called upon to fill in the rotation with a player who could compete at a number of positions effectively on the basketball court. While the Minnesota Timberwolves turned to veteran forward Kyle Anderson to make up the difference on the Timberwolves roster, that player was Troy Brown Jr. for Los Angeles.
"“We have a few guys who are Swiss army knives. They play in that two-four position and they’re able to do a little of everything from different areas of the rotation. And Troy, he’s at the top of that list.” – as per Lakers HC Ham."
It was that challenge of contributing in so many ways to the team that allowed the Lakers to put together a nice playoff run to close out the 2022-23 NBA season. And it was Brown who often stood up for the Lakers on defense in those must-win contests.
A Wolf in a Lakers jersey
Keep in mind that Lakers SF Troy Brown Jr. is already quite versed in playing alongside Timberwolves players. Well, former Timberwolves players, that is. He started the 2022-23 NBA season by playing with former Timberwolves PG Patrick Beverley. And by the 2023 NBA Trade Deadline, he lost PatBev as a teammate but picked up a new trio of former Timberwolves players in SG Malik Beasley, PF Jarred Vanderbilt, and PG D’Angelo Russell.
And with each new wave of players, Troy Brown Jr. was forced to change his game, fill in the new needs of a reassembled roster, and be every bit as effective in the process. And as you will see, he answered that challenge each time with his best effort. Clearly, it seemed to pan out, as the Lakers were one of the biggest surprises in the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
He shut down a splash brother
He was particularly adept at shutting down Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson, a feat that enabled the Lakers to defeat the Warriors three times in four meetings last season. In fact, in their final match against the Warriors, Troy Brown Jr. held Golden State Warriors SG Klay Thompson to just 22 points and a +/- rating of (-27). Brown finished that game with 14 points, eight rebounds, 57.1 percent shooting from the perimeter, and a +/- rating of +10 for the game:
"“He played 41 minutes tonight, but we needed him out there all 41 tonight. The job he did on Klay (Thompson) when he got cross-matched on different guys, he earned his weight in gold tonight…He’s been a pleasure to coach this season.” – Lakers Coach Ham discussing Troy Brown Jr."
The Minnesota Timberwolves know that they will need to do a much better job against the Golden State Warriors this season. While the Timberwolves split the series 2-2, they know that they will need to be far more competitive this year to win that four-game series. That is where Troy Brown Jr. comes in.
The Timberwolves bench adds a dominating defender
While he may not routinely be a 20 points, 10 rebounds type of player off the bench for the Timberwolves, he can and does impact the outcome of games in his own unique ways. His ability to take out and neutralize one of the NBA’s most prolific perimeter shooters is an area that the Timberwolves struggled at last season.
And he has a sweet ability to box out other players and pull down rebounds at a very efficient rate. That’s another area that the Timberwolves need to improve at this season as well.
Clearly, the Minnesota Timberwolves roster has become even more formidable defensively than a year ago, a direction that this team has taken consistently since hiring Tim Connelly in the role of Minnesota Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations.