Shannon Brown was looking for a comeback in the National Basketball Association when he enlisted in the New York Knick's Summer League Squad in Las Vegas. Unfortunately for the veteran swing man and NBA champion, he was cut off by the team prior to the the start of the regular season.
The Knicks' PR account announced the news Wednesday through Twitter on saying, "New York Knickerbockers President Phil Jackson announced today that the team has waived guard Shannon Brown."
Brown played 19 games with the Knicks last season but did not deliver the kind of impact that the team expected from him after only averaging a meager 2.1 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 7.8 minutes per game. Those numbers are well below his career average of 7.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists for 15 minutes per game coming off the bench in Los Angeles and Phoenix.
The journey man guard enlisted for the Summer League to get his groove back, as he told Josh Martin of Bleacher Report:
I thought coming to Summer League would give me a chance to get back in the groove a little bit of actually playing basketball. To basically have it taken away from me was tough to deal with, but, you know, I'm blessed. I've got a great family. I've got great people around me that tell me to keep pushing, and I'm self-motivated also.
Needless to say, Brown wasn't really spectacular in his Summer League stint in Las Vegas. He converted 7.4 points and grabbed 1.5 rebounds a game in 14 minutes of play.
Brown has been a role player in his entire career but is an experienced veteran. He has also played for then Head Coach Phil Jackson in the Lakers' championship era and is familiar with the system that Coah Derek Fisher will possibly integrate in New York. So the question now is whether waiving Brown the right decision by the Knicks. With the acquisition of Jose Calderon from the Mavericks this offseason and plenty of budding young guards like Tim Hardaway, Jr., Cleanthony Early, and Shane Larkin, New York has plenty of options in the back court. The Knicks may have found no place for a veteran like Brown and made the decision to cut him off. However, Brown is still 28 years old - still in his prime - but already has tons of playoff experience and also has a great sense of what his role is for a team. It should not be hard for him to find a team most likely a contender who will require his services for the coming season.
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