Jabari Brown Starting to Make the Case for More Minutes with Los Angeles Lakers

The newest member of the Los Angeles Lakers has been making a convincing case for an extended test run with the team.

Undrafted rookie Jabari Brown was signed to a 10-day contract on March 10 on a call-up from the team’s development affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, where he was collecting a league-high 24.4 points per game.

After Thursday’s game against the Utah Jazz, Lakers beat reporter Mike Trudell tweeted that the 22-year-old’s hopes will come true:

Over four games with the parent team, the shooting guard is averaging seven points and 1.25 rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.

The numbers are solid enough for a player in his specific role, but it’s the effort that’s drawing attention and praise.

“He is one of those guys next year who will belong in this league,” said Lakers coach Byron Scott, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “He guards people and is a tough kid. Offensively, he takes what you give him. He makes good decisions too, which is important. So I think he has a place in this league.”

Scott added another note of confidence on Thursday, according to Medina: “Right now, I’d like to keep him for another 10 days and see how it goes. I think he’s improved from what we had in the summertime to this time right now.”

There really is no shortage of praise from Scott. Per Serena Winters of Lakers Nation:

But for the 6’5” wing who grew up in Oakland, California, the focus is now, not next year. Living in the present also includes the champagne perks of playing in the NBA—a far cry from minor league barnstorming on a beer budget.

Brown’s first 10-day contract of $29,843 with the Lakers is more than twice the standard D-League rookie salary of $13,000 for an entire season.

After a second 10-day contract, the team has to either sign Brown for the remainder of the season or let him walk out the door. 

There would certainly appear to be a continuing need, as Brown has been filling a hole created by the absence of Nick Young due to a sore left knee. On Wednesday, Young was diagnosed with a hairline crack in his kneecap, per Trudell.

And while the rookie’s NBA career is still embryonic, his connection with one Lakers teammate goes back to college and a close friendship forged through trying times.

Brown and Jordan Clarkson came to Missouri from different schools—Oregon and Tulsa, respectively. They became roommates and friends during their redshirt year. But as Tully Corcoran wrote for Bleacher Report last June, the buddies became brothers under the most difficult of circumstances:

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Their bond was sealed over a hellish 34-day stretch in which Clarkson and Brown—a pair of transfer guards who became Missouri's leading scorers—found out their fathers had cancer and decided the best thing they could do was be quiet, be strong and only show vulnerability within the walls of the apartment they shared together in Columbia, Missouri.

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L.G. Patterson/Associated Press

When the season ended with a second-round loss to Southern Miss in the NIT, the backcourt duo decided to forgo its final year of eligibility and declare for the 2014 draft.

But while Clarkson landed with the Lakers, Brown fell off the board altogether.

Brown wound up playing for the Houston Rockets during the NBA Summer League, and then he got an invite to Lakers training camp in the fall. He lasted all the way through four preseason games, playing minimal minutes behind Kobe Bryant and Wayne Ellington.

Just days before the regular season was to begin, Brown was waived—a victim of the final cut. But he landed with the D-Fenders, who practice and play their home games in the Lakers’ El Segundo training facilities.

Brown honed his game and showcased his skills, scoring 50 points against the Sioux Falls Skyforce on Jan. 10 and 48 against the Bakersfield Jam on Feb. 28. He can score in a variety of ways, from three-point range with a smooth release, or on dribble-drive penetration, attacking the rim or stopping for effective pump-fakes followed by short jumpers.

He collects his share of trips to the stripe as well—averaging 7.4 free-throw attempts and converting 83.7 percent in the D-League.

Now he’s trying to put it all together while playing against the best guards the NBA has to offer. Every game is an opportunity to prove he belongs on the main stage.

“Every day means something,” Brown said, per Jovan Buha of ESPNLosAngeles.com. “I’m just trying to show them I’m going to be a guy that is going to bring energy every day, whether it be practice or a game.”

Mizzou’s backcourt stars haven’t played a lot of minutes together in game-time situations for the Lakers—Clarkson’s now a starter, while Brown is coming off the bench.

Yet there have been brief but tantalizing sightings of the former Tigers, including fourth-quarter situations in tight games against the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday, and the Jazz on Thursday. Per Lakers Nation:

It appears that the reunion will continue for at least the short term, given the latest news.

And perhaps it will lead to much more than that for a purple and gold franchise that is building for the future.

But for now, an undrafted rookie is simply making the case for more minutes as his hoops dream journey continues.

David Murphy is an NBA Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @davem234.