After signing with the Timberwolves during the offseason, Brown will play for his fourth team in the past five years. He spent the 2022-23 season with the Lakers, averaging 7.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 three-pointers in 24.5 minutes per game. He figures to play a similar role in Minnesota, picking up the minutes vacated by Taurean Prince. Although he will not be a fantasy-relevant player outside of deeper formats, he should provide the Timberwolves with some versatility off the bench. If injuries befall the team once again, managers might want to keep an eye on his role, just in case he is forced into additional court time at any point throughout the season.
Brown inked a one-year, vet minimum contract with the Lakers this offseason after spending the last year-plus as a bench contributor for the Bulls. He did compile a 34-game mid-season stretch where he averaged 4.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists over slightly more than 20 minutes per game but closed out the year primarily playing single-digit minutes and finished the campaign tallying 4.3 points, 3.1 boards and 1.0 assist over 16.0 minutes per game. The move to Los Angeles seems unlikely to bear more fruit as far as playing time goes, but Brown figures to slot into a similar bench role with his new club, seeing spot minutes that could expand if injuries mount. As a result, Brown should only warrant fantasy consideration in deeper fantasy formats.
Brown split time between the Wizards and Bulls last season. Overall, he averaged 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 15.4 minutes across 34 appearances. He'll start this season with Chicago, and it's possible he'll see an increase in workload since the Bulls' depth is relatively thin. At most, he could see minutes in the mid-20s and potentially mirror his production from 2019-20 with the Wizards, where he averaged 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals in 25.8 minutes. He ranked 159th in per-game fantasy production that season. Still, his upside is capped given the Bulls' concrete starting rotation where each player should play 30-35 minutes per game, and Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan and Nikola Vucevic are relatively high-usage players. Ultimately, Brown could be worth a late-pick flier in deep leagues, but he would also be a quick drop candidate if the necessary workload isn't there.
Brown appeared in all but three games for the Wizards in 2019-20. The 2018, 15th overall pick saw 25.8 minutes per game as a sophomore, averaging 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals. He showed real upside when given the opportunity, averaging 15.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals when seeing 30-plus minutes. The small forward will have to compete for minutes in 2020-21 with Isaac Bonga and Davis Bertans. Even if Brown doesn't start, he could be in line for a similar sixth-man role that he saw last season. Assuming that's the case, he makes for a flier option late in drafts in deep fantasy leagues. He's could also be worth a waiver-wire pickup in shallower formats if his role becomes more pronounced as the season progresses.
Despite being selected No. 15 overall by the Wizards in the 2018 NBA Draft, it took a while for Brown become a regular member of Washington's rotation during his rookie season. After appearing in just 29 of the team's first 59 regular season outings and playing just 7.1 minutes per game during that stretch, the opportunity for playing time emerged for the final stretch of the regular season when the Wizards traded away starting small forward Otto Porter Jr. to the Bulls. As a result, Brown appeared in each of the last 23 games for Washington with his workload growing with every passing contest. He showed real promise in the last 10 games of the season, all of which he started, averaging 10.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 30.3 minutes per game. Now, with the Wizards looking like a completely different team heading into 2019-20, Brown's continuity could put him at a real advantage. Brown will likely be competing with fellow swingman C.J. Miles, who the Wizards acquired via trade this offseason, for the starting small forward spot, but given that Washington is now a team built with a number of young pieces, the 20-year-old Brown should see usage in line with what he had during last year's final stretch.
Brown entered his freshman season at Oregon as one of the highest ranked recruits in the entire country and while he didn't necessarily explode on to the scene, the 6-foot-7 wing did prove to be an all-around player for the Ducks. He finished the 2017-18 campaign averaging 11.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.6 steals. However, he shot just 44.4 percent from the field and a meager 29.1 percent from deep, so he's clearly got some work to do offensively to become a legitimate NBA player. Brown showed some promise during the NBA's Las Vegas Summer League and averaged 18.4 points, but didn't squash any concerns with his collegiate shooting struggles and hit just 42.5 percent from the field and a brutal 15.8 percent from three-point land. His offensive consistency will likely be the main focus going into his rookie season and he should have plenty of time to develop behind the likes of Otto Porter, Austin Rivers and Kelly Oubre on the wing. Brown contains plenty of upside as a two-way prospect, but is a bit buried on the depth chart for what's expected to be a playoff team. That will likely significantly limit his Fantasy impact in his first NBA season.