Getty Moses Brown, Mavericks, left
Friday marked an important NBA deadline for third-year Mavericks big man Moses Brown, who arrived in Dallas in a trade with the Celtics in the offseason and was on a non-guaranteed contract. The Mavericks had until Friday evening to decide whether to pick up Brown for the remainder of the season, and chose to do so.
Brown will make $1.7 million this season. Whether he does so in Dallas remains to be seen.
Source: Mavs plan to keep reserve big man Moses Brown, whose $1.7M salary becomes guaranteed today. Brown, 22, has contributed in spot duty this season (79 points, 51 rebounds, .605 FG% in 148 minutes).
In what has been an all-too-familiar pattern for the 7-foot-2 center, Brown has had a difficult time getting consistent minutes on a Mavs team that has had a carousel of big guys in the middle. Brown is averaging 6.7 minutes in 22 games, scoring just 3.6 points with 2.3 rebounds.
He did have a start in late November when he played all of 11 minutes and returned to the bench shortly thereafter.
The Mavericks are the third team Brown has played for in three years, after making nine appearances in Portland in 2019-20 and playing 43 games for Oklahoma City last season.
Brown Worked With Tyson Chandler
While Brown now knows that his salary will be taken care of for the season, it is unclear what Dallas’ plans are for him. He gets spot minutes for the Mavs but rarely is on the floor for an extended period. He could be used as a filler salary in a potential trade at next month’s deadline, and could be enticing for a team interested in a young shot-blocking big man.
Brown has not gotten consistent minutes at any point in his NBA career, but he does average 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes.
The Mavs had some hope that Brown could develop into a better all-around big guy, especially as he has been working with Tyson Chandler, the center on the Mavs’ 2011 championship team. Chandler entered the NBA with much the same concerns that teams have about Brown—that he’s too thin and not willing to be physical enough.
Before the season, Brown talked about working with Chandler.
“I think it’s been going really well, he has been laying out a recipe for success for me and I’ve just been sticking to it all the way,” Brown said. “He’s a great player and I want to follow in his footsteps. I knew him just watching him growing up, as a fan and being one of my dad’s favorite players. For him to be able to come in and just show me what it takes to be on that level is a blessing and I do everything I can to take advantage of that.”
Chriss Has Earned a Role With the Mavericks
Brown did not appear in the Mavericks’ two previous games, wins over the Warriors and Nuggets. That was part of an impressive four-game winning streak that has brought the team to two games over .500.
After cycling through several options at center, it appears that coach Jason Kidd is back where he started the season, with Dwight Powell in the middle. With Willie Cauley-Stein out because of personal reasons, the Mavs have added Marquese Chriss and appear to favor him in the rotation ahead of Brown.