According to reports, Shannon Brown has requested to join the Cavaliers’ development league team due to a lack of playing time on the pro roster. You will remember that Shannon Brown was the Cavs’ first round draft pick (number 25 overall) in the 2006 NBA draft. Put him on the long list of Cavs draft picks that have been shuttered off into the abyss.
The Cavs have already stated that they won’t pick up the option for Brown’s third year on his rookie contract. That means that unless the Cavs change their minds, Brown will be an unrestricted free agent and could be signed by anybody league wide.
Now, I am not willing to jump in front of a train for Shannon Brown. We don’t know exactly what he has to offer as a player at the professional level. What I do know is that Brown has gotten inconsistent chances, at best. He has been inconsistent overall, but at the same time the whole situation just stinks of mismanagement of talent by the Cavs. Mike Brown has an affinity for veterans and throughout Brown’s two years in Cleveland those veterans have gotten the nod for playing time. This includes Larry Hughes, Eric Snow, Damon Jones, David Wesley, and the younger guys who are more like Brown’s peers, Daniel Gibson and Sasha Pavlovic.
That list makes me want to tear my hair out. You are telling me that Shannon Brown, who had a pretty damn good college career at Michigan State wouldn’t be able to contribute more consistently than any of those guys? We know he is a hell of a lot more athletic than any of them other than Daniel Gibson.
Add to this the fact that the Cavs have been MISERABLE at developing talent in the past, and I just cringe at the thought of what some other coaching staff might be able to do with Shannon Brown next season when he gets more of an opportunity. Look at Jason Kapono. The Cavs let him get away in the expansion draft because they didn’t feel he was worth protecting. For comparison’s sake, the Cavs protected Dajuan Wagner, Jeff McInnis, Desegana Diop, and Kedrick Brown as they let Kapono leave for Charlotte. Kapono has gone on to become a VERY solid contributor with Miami and now Toronto. Dajuan Wagner recently signed a deal with a POLISH TEAM CALLED PROKOM TREFL SOPOT.
All the Cavs had to do was evaluate their own talent better and they would solve a lot of their own problems. While I don’t know for sure about Shannon Brown, I would hate to see another player who is capable of contributing to this talent-starved team disappear.
