I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one who knew little or nothing about Andre Brown before the Sonics signed him yesterday. Here’s a brief bio on the newest member of the roster, the man who will turn the Sonics into a playoff contender. (Seriously, Andre, no pressure).
Spent the past couple of months with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBDL. Currently leading the league in points and second in rebounds. Fantastic field goal percentage of 66; not so fantastic FT percentage of 55.
Brown was selected as the 2nd pick in the NBDL draft in November 2006, ahead of Denham Brown, Troy Bell, Darius Washington, and a whole bunch of people even NBA geeks wouldn’t know. Still, he could’ve been picked behind those people, so he’s got that going for him.
Brown also played in Italy and the Adriatic League (where he managed to hit 7 of 23 free throws!), always having good rebounding numbers and decent scoring totals. You may not remember this, but Brown was in the Sonics’ training camp in the summer of 2005, before heading off for South Korea and the Philippines (for the Barangay Ginebra Kings!). Naturally, Brown dominated in the Philippines, inasmuch as he would have been the only person taller than 5’3” in the entire country.
Brown’s most well known experience was for DePaul, averaging close to a double-double during for his four years in school. As could be expected, he shot poorly from the line and great from the field, culminating in a 57% FG/48% FT mark his senior year. He also averaged a couple of turnovers per game, which is another knock on his game (worth noting he’s averaged 3.1 TOs per game at Sioux Falls). He also set a Conference USA record with 27 rebounds in a single game back in the day.
At 6’9” and 245 pounds, Brown isn’t going to destroy anyone inside, but he is a presence. I also doubt that he’s going to block any shots at the NBA level, since he never did in college. According to various internet sources, Brown is very fast for a big man, and has been likened to Kenyon Martin in his ability to run the break and play down low. Ironically, Brown was the second-best player at a pre-draft camp in Norfolk, VA. The best player? Desmond Farmer, the guy the Sonics just released to get Brown.
Basically, I can see Brown playing a few minutes off the bench when the Sonics need a warm body – worthwhile for the team in that it will enable the Sonics to send Sene to the NBDL where he can get some minutes. Does this mean, though, that more moves are to come, like, perhaps, a Fortson trade?
I don’t know. Unless the Sonics can get a big man in return, it doesn’t really make sense to trade Fortson, unless Bob Hill plans on starting Petro and giving up on the season (which, considering who’s available in the draft this year, may not be such a bad idea).
It’s sad, though, that what could turn out to be one of the Sonics’ final seasons in Seattle will be such a lousy year. Sad, but not entirely surprising.
