Raptors reportedly convert Lorenzo Brown to NBA contract, add him to playoff roster

Fresh of winning the 2018 G League MVP award, it appears as though the Raptors are set on converting Lorenzo Brown’s two-way contract to a full NBA deal — for the last day of the regular season and the playoffs. The news is reported by who else, the machine man Blake Murphy.

The Raptors have carried that empty roster spot for the entire season. Once it became clear there were no good buyout eligible players for the Raptors to target, it felt inevitably the franchise would eventually look inward. To that end, Toronto has had Malcolm Miller and Brown on two-way contracts for just such a purpose, and even recently took a look at Nigel Hayes on a 10-day contract to see if he fit. Having now opted to convert Brown’s deal to an NBA contract, this means Miller is not playoff eligible (but he’ll remain with the team). And don’t worry, the cap hit of such a deal is negligible.

Ultimately, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Raptors made the call with Brown. At 27 years old and 6’5”, Brown’s been around for a bit and can handle ball-handling and defensive duties for either guard spot. He’s appeared in NBA games for Philly, Minnesota, and Phoenix. For the Raptors, he’s played in 14 games, averaging 2.3 points, 0.9 assists, and 1.1 rebounds while shooting 41 percent from the floor (and, uh, 17 percent from three) in just shy of 10 minutes per game. (Don’t be surprised to see Brown get some serious run in tonight’s game against the Heat.)

Our guy Cole Shelton wrote a bit more about Brown’s success this season here. Or just read any of JD Quirante’s Prospect Reports to get the full picture on how Z-Bo’s been running the 905.