Reports: Timberwolves, Forward Troy Brown Jr. Agree to Multi-Year Deal

24 minutes into the 2023 NBA Free Agency window, the Minnesota Timberwolves agreed to terms with their first new player, 23-year-old forward Troy Brown Jr.

Brown is a five-year vet who’s played for the Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls, and most recently, the Los Angeles Lakers. Through 76 total games with the Lakers, Brown averaged 7.1 points per game, 4.1 rebounds, and 1.3 assists on 43% from the floor and 38.1% deep. Brown has put on a slew of different caps for all three teams he’s played for. However, his role in L.A. last season was as a versatile forward who brought efficient defense and the ability to knock down catch and shoot threes at a high clip.

What makes this signing ironic is the fact that the Lakers agreed to terms with Taurean Prince about ten minutes prior to the Wolves agreeing with Brown. In a way, you could say that L.A. and Minnesota essentially swapped Prince for Brown straight up. Up front, that hypothetical trade appears as one that the Wolves lose in. However, Prince was able to get $4.5 million from the Lakers next season, while Brown only slotted in at $4 million annually, according to Jon Krawczynski.

Signing Brown wasn’t a sexy deal from Minnesota’s front office, especially due to the fact that it was their first acquisition of the summer. However, being that he was a budget signing, this could easily be a sneaky move from President of Basketball Operations Tim Connelly and his staff. Minnesota was in need of shooting off their bench, and while Brown wasn’t on many Wolves fans' lists, he still has the possibility to excel in a similar role to what Prince had in the Twin Cities.