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2022 Free Agents - Moses Brown

Summary
Moses Brown was a bit of a surprise for the Thunder in '20-'21, as he ended up starting 32 games. However, it's pretty hard to evaluate players in situations like what the Thunder were in during the later parts of the '20-'21 season. By that time, the Thunder had shut down two of their best players in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Al Horford, and were on a fast race to the bottom of the standings.

During that time, Brown got plenty of minutes and showed some production as a roll man in the pick-and-roll, but I'm not sure he showed he can contribute to winning. He was a pretty inefficient scorer with only an eFG% of 53% and only shot 61% from three free throw line as well. While he didn't get as many minutes in Dallas and Cleveland in '21-'22, he at least finished well at the rim during his time with the Cavs, although the sample size was pretty small.

Brown rebounds well on both ends of the court, having a well-above average defensive rebounding rate and an elite offensive rebounding rate, according to Cleaning the Glass. He also has a very good block rate.

I think Brown has the potential to be a lob-threat center that also can rebound and protect the rim, which has value in this league. However, he will need to finish better inside, whether that's by limiting his attempts to dunks or improving his touch. 
 
Cap Considerations
Brown will be a restricted free agent with a $2.1 million cap hold and Qualifying Offer, and the Cavs will have his Non-Bird rights. If the Cavs don't think Brown is worth retaining for $2.1 million or more, they may not even tender him the QO, which would make him an unrestricted free agent.

If the Cavs re-sign Brown using the Non-Bird Exception, they could offer him a starting salary of $2.3 million, which would likely be enough to retain him. Alternatively, the Cavs could offer use their Mid-Level Exception or Bi-Annual Exception if $2.3 million is not enough.

Other teams will have multiple ways to Brown as even teams without cap space could use any of the Non-Taxpayer MLE, Taxpayer MLE, or even the Room MLE or BAE to sign him to an offer sheet or outright as an unrestricted free agent. He also could possibly be signed for the minimum, especially if he is unrestricted.

Potential Teams: Nuggets, Suns, Cavaliers, Raptors, Hornets

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $1.9 million (non-guaranteed) with the Nuggets

Actual Contract: Two-way contract with the Clippers

As projected, Brown was unable to find a standard NBA contract, but did sign a two-way with the Clippers.

Last updated: 10/17/2022

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