With the array of injuries that the Cleveland Cavaliers have endured over the course of the season, Jarrett Allen‘s broken finger, to go with a quad contusion, really seemed like the icing on top of the cake. The Cavs will be without Allen indefinitely, and he could possibly be out the rest of the regular season.
With Evan Mobley, Ed Davis, and Lauri Markkanen (to some extent) being the only solid rim protectors left on the team, the Cavs had to make some kind of move to acquire a big man, and Tim Frazier’s 10-day deal had since expired.
Well, Cleveland landed on former McDonald’s All-American Moses Brown, per a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, via 10-day deal.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are signing center Moses Brown to a 10-day contract, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 10, 2022
This was a sensible move by the Cavs, as Brown can help fill in for stretches with Allen out.
Brown, a player our own Josh Cornelissen recently mentioned as a potential target, is a 7-foot-2 center who played his college ball at UCLA. He most recently played for the Dallas Mavericks, before they released him in early February. He’s an interesting big man who could end up sticking with the Cavaliers via team-friendly deal, I’d imagine.
This season, Brown played in 26 total games, starting only one. His averages on the season are 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Last season he played with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and he had a solid season in Oklahoma City in 2021.
In particular, his rebounding when he was on the court was exceptional. He averaged 8.9 rebounds per game last season while only seeing limited action. He’s not much of a scorer, but he can do the dirty work on the inside that the Cavaliers need without Allen.
With the Brown signing, hopefully Evan Mobley won’t have to play even more minutes, while covering for Allen’s absence at center for some stretches. Brown is very athletic, and was good at times in pick-and-roll situations for the Thunder, and could mesh well with Darius Garland.
It’s a nice pickup for the Cavs, and could turn into a rest-of-season and/or multi-year deal seemingly if Brown plays well in the minutes he’s given. Brown is still only 22 years old, so he fits the culture of the young core. Hopefully Brown can buy into the team defense philosophy of head coach J.B. Bickerstaff.
Brown may not have expected to be playing meaningful minutes this late in the year, but with the Cavaliers he assuredly will.