Clippers acquire New Orleans’ Bobby Brown
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The Clippers have acquired New Orleans reserve point guard Bobby Brown for a conditional second-round draft pick, assistant general manager Neil Olshey confirmed this morning.
Brown, the former Westchester High and Cal State Fullerton standout, will provide depth at guard after Sebastian Telfair was lost for at least a month because of a groin injury and Eric Gordon suffered a sprained big toe on his left foot.
Brown is expected to join the Clippers tonight and could make his debut with the team Wednesday against the New Jersey Nets at the IZOD Center. The Clippers released JamesOn Curry, whom they had recently signed to a 10-day contract out of the Development League, to create a roster spot for Brown.
Olshey described the 6-foot-2 Brown as a small, quick player who gives the Clippers an element they currently lack on their roster.
‘We needed to do something and this gives us the ability to get an NBA player as opposed to playing the carousel of going down to the D-League and trying to find somebody,’ Olshey said.
The move will allow New Orleans to get under the NBA’s luxury-tax threshold by shedding Brown’s $736,420 salary from their books. But the Hornets will more than cover Brown’s salary in payments to the Clippers, whose cap space will not be affected. The Clippers acquired Rasual Butler from the Hornets last season in a similar salary dump.
Brown was averaging 6.6 points and 2.1 assists in 22 games for the Hornets. But his playing time had been cut dramatically this month, when he appeared in only three games.
The Clippers will surrender a second-round draft pick in 2014 only if they finish in the top five in the NBA. If they like the way Brown performs they can extend him a qualifying offer next summer that would make him a restricted free agent.
-- Ben Bolch