Cavs’ flyer on Moses Brown could prove to be meaningful one

When the Cleveland Cavaliers initially signed Moses Brown to a set of 10-day deals and eventually a two-way deal even, it’s not something that many probably read too much into. That’s understandable, as Brown was previously signed to two two-way deals before with the Portland Trail Blazers and Oklahoma City Thunder in recent seasons.

Plus, after he was traded in the past offseason by the Boston Celtics to the Dallas Mavericks, Brown didn’t get a ton of opportunities with Dallas before he was waived in February by the Mavs, and didn’t do a whole lot when the chances did come them.

Still, there is some tangible skills with Brown, and he’s very young. So when the Cavaliers did bring Brown in, and eventually near season’s end, convert him to a rest-of-season deal, as KJG’s Amadou Sow detailed, it was sensible. And it was at the time uncertain if Jarrett Allen (finger fracture) could appear in the play-in tournament.

Anyway, while Brown didn’t receive a boatload of time with the Cavaliers, obviously, there were some solid flashes from the 22-year-old big, and the flyer on him could turn out to be a solid one.

The Cavs’ flyer on Brown could prove to be a meaningful one, and there’s an argument to be made for him to be back next season.

Brown was clearly not going to be a splashy signing or anything, based on his availability when the Cavaliers brought him in. This season with Dallas, he had 3.1 points and 2.3 rebounds in 6.5 minutes per outing in 26 appearances, and he’s a raw player that he needs work on both ends to be a near-every night rotational contributor.

That said, Brown did a decent job, all things considered, when filling in for Allen, and a bit as a spot starter when Evan Mobley missed time because of an ankle sprain a few weeks back. I’m not going to go to deep into it, but in that time, he was some of a bright spot for Cleveland, even with the team having its inconsistencies, somewhat due to injuries.

In that time, though, Brown had 12.4 points and 11.8 rebounds in 25.0 minutes per game in five starts. And he was a capable rolling option/lob threat in pick-and-rolls with Darius Garland, as KJG’s Will Holtz alluded to, prior to Brown having a rest-of-season deal.

When factoring in Brown’s rebounding and him providing at least some rim protection, feasibly for rotational stretches, I’m with Holtz in thinking that Brown could potentially be a developmental player the Cavaliers could have around for next season. We’d have to see from there.

In any case, while Brown has a ways to go, and he has bounced around thus far in his NBA career, the Cavs’ flyer on him in the closing stretch of the season could be a meaningful one, as he is 7-foot-2 interior presence that can give the team energy. The same goes for him as again, a lob threat and impactful rebounder.

And though he doesn’t have nearly the touch on push shots as Allen, I do believe that’s something the Cavaliers can help him develop further, say if they were to sign him a team-friendly deal for multiple years that’s mostly non-guaranteed. His footwork needs seasoning, too, and he’s not a switchable big.

But realistically, there’s traits with Brown to build on, he’ll be just in age-23 season in 2022-23, and guys like Allen and Mobley can help Brown improve. As he demonstrated in his 2020-21 time with the Thunder, when he had 8.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 21.4 minutes per outing in 43 appearances, Brown can give a squad a lift if the opportunities arise.

Granted, I’m well aware of his limitations, and I can’t say definitively how much he’d play next season, however, for spurts, he could provide some decent minutes in relief of Allen, and I don’t discount that, along with as some insurance.

So, as we noted, there would be seem to be an argument for Brown to be back next season on a deal that wouldn’t cost much. We’ll see if that plays out, though.