1. Sterling Brown
The Los Angeles Lakers get a young shooter in Sterling Brown
Contract: 1 year / $1,678,854 contract with the Houston Rockets, including $1,678,854 guaranteed
The Houston Rockets weren’t supposed to be terrible this year. However, trading away James Harden coupled with injuries to many of their best players, including breakout star Christian Wood, significantly changed their season outlook.
Losers of 15 straight games since Wood’s injury, the Rockets will be looking to sell fringe players for future assets ahead of the trade deadline.
Sterling Brown is 26 years of age and has never averaged more than 7.6 PPG in his four seasons in the NBA. It’s a safe bet to say that he isn’t likely to be part of the team’s long-term plans.
However, Brown can provide some sneaky value as part of a win-now roster. This season, he’s averaging 39.7% on 4.1 three-point-attempts per game. More impressively, Brown is consistently above-average at making every type of long-ball. This season, he’s shot 39.1% on his pull-up threes, 40% on his catch-and-shoot threes, 41.3% on his above-the-break threes, and 39% on his corner threes.
Furthermore, while Brown won’t get mistaken for Alex Caruso any time soon, he’s graded as an above-average defender this season, ranking in the 73rd percentile according to BBall Index’s Defensive LEBRON metric. Coupled with his shooting, that’s enough for Brown to receive regular rotation minutes and be a valuable contributor.
Most importantly, Sterling Brown would cost the Lakers very little to acquire. It’s worth picking up the phone and calling the Rockets because his presence would add a new dimension to the team’s bench.