Lakers Rumors: Troy Brown Jr. Agrees to 1-Year Contract at Veteran's Minimum

The Los Angeles Lakers strengthened their depth on the wing Thursday.

Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reports the Lakers have agreed to a veteran's minimum contract with small forward Troy Brown Jr., who spent last season with the Chicago Bulls.

Brown appeared in 66 games with seven starts for Chicago last season. He averaged 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds in 16 minutes per game.

Entering his fifth year in the NBA, Brown began his career with the Washington Wizards after being drafted 15th overall in 2018. The Oregon product has his best year during his sophomore season with the Wizards, as he posted career highs of 10.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals.

Washington traded Brown to Chicago midway through the 2020-21 season as part of a three-team deal that also involved the Boston Celtics.

The Lakers are hoping for a bounce-back season in 2022-23. The team failed to make the playoffs this year after finishing 33-49 despite having superstars LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook on the roster. Los Angeles hired former Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham as its next head coach, and he's bringing a defensive mindset to the team.

Los Angeles struggled mightily on that end of the floor last season, ranking 28th after allowing opponents to score an average of 115.1 points.

Brown should be able to help the Lakers improve their perimeter defense, but they still have more moves to make if they hope to compete with the elite teams in the Western Conference next season.