Moses Brown on being a network: ‘Great to be at home’
Young Moses Brown had a poster of Jason Kidd, was located where the Barclays Center was under construction and had a seat in the stands during some of the arena’s first playing days.
Brown, 23, could come full circle Sunday by making his debut in a Nets game against the visiting Nuggets in the now 10-year-old arena.
“I’ve been on so many teams all over the country, and it’s great to be home,” Brown, a New York City producer, said after practice Saturday. “Every time we drove around Brooklyn, I watched Barclays Center progress every year. This was the new team. I remember, growing up, I loved the colors and the uniforms and everything.”
the Just signed a 7-foot-2 Brown – who is five inches taller than fellow center Dayron Sharpe – was awarded a 10-day contract on Friday in lieu of a renewed deal for veteran Nerlens Noel.
Brown starred in Archbishop Molloy before a year-long hiatus at UCLA.
“He’s looking at the top of Dayron,” team coach Jack Vaughn said in awe. “I’ll see how the games present themselves, but we want to see him get some good minutes at some point. I did that very early on with the Nerlens to quickly give us some answers.”
Brown spent most of the season with the Clippers, but was waived after being active for 50 games—the maximum allowed on a two-way contract.
He spent about a week with the Knicks’ G-League affiliate before the Nets called.
“Just be prepared,” Brown said, being told of his chance. “That was the thing about my career, anyway: being able to defend the edge and play with high energy. That was pretty much the main thing.” [offer] And the situation looked better than others. I know a lot of the players in the coaching staff and even in the team.
Familiarity should reduce the learning curve.
The Browns rely on second-time teammates Dorian Feeney Smith and Spencer Dinwiddie to help with new terminology and study tendencies from the five-on-five scrimmage late in practice.
He considers himself a defensive “anchor” who must be vocal and call screens.
“Different guys timing and if I could hold a screen for them,” Brown said as one example. “Playing with so many different players on so many different teams, you have to adapt to different players and playing styles, so being able to go up and down has helped me get used to the players I play with.
The Nets is Brown’s seventh NBA draft since leaving Don Kraft in 2019. He averages 5.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 126 games over his career.
“He’s just a big body on the edge for us,” said Vaughn, “but he’s an agile guy who can run across the floor.”
The NBA is not immune to March Madness fever.
When Vaughn—a former Kansas guard—spotted a Missouri jersey on a practice monitor, he pulled a glass-sized tea cup out of his pocket and began sipping on it while he did the dance.
Kansas, among the Big 12, and Missouri, among the SEC’s, played Saturday on opposite sides of the bracket, but their rivalry in all sports is known as the “War of the Boundaries.”
Guards Ben Simmons (left knee/back soreness), David Duke Jr. (G-League) and Dru Smith (G-League) announced against the Nuggets.
