National Basketball Association

Detroit Pistons player profile: Lorenzo Brown

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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As the NBA season nears, we will take a deeper look at each player on the Detroit Pistons and what their role will be this season. Lorenzo Brown is trying to turn a stellar summer league into a roster spot, but he’ll have to earn it in training camp.

Lorenzo Brown has had to scrap and fight for everything he’s earned thus far in his NBA career. This training camp, he’ll have to do that once again as he fights for one of the final roster spots on the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit’s roster is pretty set as training camp nears. 14 guys — Reggie Jackson, Ish Smith, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Darrun Hilliard, Reggie Bullock, Michael Gbinije, Marcus Morris, Stanley Johnson, Tobias Harris, Jon Leuer, Henry Ellenson, Andre Drummond, Aron Baynes, and Boban Marjanovic — look like locks to make the team heading into the 2016-2017 season.

That leaves one final spot, and it’s likely going to come down to one of either Brown or Ray McCallum.

Brown, who was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round 2013 NBA Draft, has had an all-over-the-place career so far. The 26-year-old has bounced around from D-League to 10-day contract time and time again.

Between January of 2015 and the end of last season, Brown has played on six different 10-day contracts with three teams. Detroit was one of those teams, and they wound up signing him for the rest of the season last April after his second 10-day deal expired. But while he was around for the playoffs, he never actually appeared in a game with the Pistons.

Between contracts last season, Brown was playing for the Drive and performing well. In 25 games for Grand Rapids last season, he scored 18.3 points per game, handed out 5.9 assists a game, and chipped in 2.1 steals per game too. He also shot 35.2 percent from three.

After Gbinije got hurt in the opening game of the Orlando Summer League, it was Brown who stepped in as the starter the rest of the way. He didn’t disappoint. In fact, he was Detroit’s second best player in Orlando. He averaged 14.2 points on 53.1 percent shooting, 3.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 3.6 steals a game.

His play led many, us included, to believe he had all but earned a spot at the end of the roster. Which it came as a bit of a surprise when the Pistons signed McCallum in late July. Both Brown and McCallum have unguaranteed contracts, so their training camp battle will be one to keep an eye on.

McCallum, who went to Detroit Country Day for two years of high school and played for three years at the University of Detroit Mercy, is younger, more experienced, and probably has more upside than Brown. He’s appeared in 154 NBA games (46 of which he’s started) compared to Brown’s 63.

Brown is perhaps the safer choice, having been in the Pistons organization or with their D-League affiliate for some time now. Plus, he is 6’5” which adds value to keeping him on the roster as he can provide different looks in practice and more defensive versatility.

Who makes the team will come down to Stan Van Gundy and what he prioritizes. But I think anybody who watched the Pistons in summer league thinks Brown deserves the spot.