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7/10/08 Also yesterday, the Wizards signed Utah Jazz restricted free agent point guard Dee Brown to an offer sheet for a two-year, partially guaranteed deal. Utah has one week to match the offer. Washington Post

People on the Jazz board have spoken good things about him.

I liked him at Illinois and remember him to be very quick. IIRC he's a leader-type as well.

If nothing else he can distribute the ball and he's quick.

I'll give him a chance before saying anything negative, other than I hope they didn't pay him any more than they would have paid somebody like Mike Wilks.

Dee Brown's pace-adjusted per-40 numbers in 2006/07:

He had 451 total minutes of action - not a particularly large sample size, but not an infintesmally small one either. His on/off differential was -1.3, which is pretty respectable considering he was backing up Deron Williams. He actually improved the defense by 1.5 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court. He held opposing PG's to PER of 14.7 as a rookie. Hopefully, he's learned a trick or two overseas.

At 5th guard, our only real need is for a good man-to-man defender who can stop penetration. Other than that, he only needs to be a serviceable 3rd string PG to use as an emergency backup if Arenas or Daniels get hurt. If Dee Brown can indeed defend, then he's just what the doctor ordered.

Looks like he had a good year last season in Turkey. Nice writeup on Dee Brown in wikipedia, BTW.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Brown_%28Illinois%29

His play at quarterback garnered the recruiting attention of many major collegiate football programs, including Florida State University and the University of Nebraska. His play on the basketball court, however, led Brown to be considered one of the best high school basketball players in the United States for his class. Brown was named Illinois Mr. Basketball and was a McDonald's All-American, and many recruiting analysts ranked him in the top 20 high school players

Football QB/PG brings back memories of Charlie Ward. Dude's athletic and that's a plus.

As for his defense, he did get a lot of steals in college and for Utah.

I thought he was a solid back-up the one year he played behind Deron.

And he's super-fast. His problem was that he had to play the 2 in college - because of Deron Williams' presence, so he didn't learn the point very well. And at his size, you can't make it as a 2 in the NBA. But he's worked on those PG skills for a few years and with Hoopla helping to refine his jumper - a potentially excellent pickup - as the Wiz offense doesn't need a pure PG.

He's very smart, he an absolutely terrific locker room guy, he has fun on the floor, he loves playing and competing, and he's good enough to handle 10-15 minutes here and there.

If he starting for you, your team has no chance of making the playoffs, but as a back up he's an okay shooter, a pesky defender, and a lot of fun to root for.

We've been pretty much singin his praises in the FA page for a while now, good signing in my book. In a couple years with some grooming he could def take over Daniels role.

What are the numbers? It was pretty much for the league minimum right?
And isn't he a restricted FA? Will the Jazz match?

Sorry, maybe asinine Q's but I'm at work and don't have the chance to look up the answers...

I was VERY upset when the Jazz let him go, but signed two other PGs (Hart and Price). He was great for us in the playoffs for a few games, and had his moments, especially towards the end of the season. I saw no reason to let him go. I really hope the Jazz match the offer sheet and let Hart go, but I have a bad feeling they wont. I wish Brown the best of luck where ever he plays, and I'm sure he'll be a great addition to any team.

Should be a great fit for us. Glad we got him!

I have no problems with this signing. Still waiting for EG to make another big splash into FA...

Paging Matt Barnes....
Paging Shaun Livingston....

OTW - aside from keeping two of the big three, it appears like Dee Brown in for Roger Mason (Gulp!)

i like dee brown at ILLiniois..i wanted LA to draft him a while back..

hes fast..plays tough..and hes also a leader..

Good to see a guy work hard to adjust his game and get rewarded. I hope he can stick this time. Shannon Brown would do himself some good to follow in Dee Brown's footsteps.

Excellent move. He can help defend against those small pesky pgs that always seem to be too fast for Wiz. The length of the deal is also less risky and stressful on team finances. Still hoping 4 something more significant to strengthen defense and add shotblocking....

Yeah I'd like to see S. Brown go to Europe and dominate. I still think he can be an elite defender and a pretty good reobounder from the guard position. At this point I would still pick him over Pecherov.

D. Brown, ehh. If he gets his jump shot down he's fine for a 5th gaurd. Brown gets respect from his teamates and that shows good character. Thats a good thing especially for a pg.

Being in Big Ten Country here in the midwest, I saw a LOT of Dee Brown. The guy can flat out run. He was called 'the one man fast break' a lot.

He absolutely torched Iowa- back when we were good at sports

but on the upside, now that Dee Brown is in the NBA, I have to like him because here's the logic:
Big Ten player in college- hate em because their on a rival team
Big Ten player in the pros- love em because they're a product of the Big Ten

Can't go wrong with Big Ten Players!!

Dee Brown leading the Wizards alternate quick-squad

Dee Brown
Gary Forbes
JaVale McGee
Nick Young
Andray Blatche

Good to see he's officially ours now.

Maybe he can teach Gil a lil something about using uber-quick speed to ballhawk on the defensive end.

wonder if he's going to be the chris Paul to our tyson chandler ( mcgee). I mean as far as lobs go. I don't know if I can compare his game to chris paul. I do see us getting faster, longer and more athletic. Mcgee is fast for a big and Dee is fast for a small so these two guys should be on the break alot..

More importantly we can now say DEE TO MCGEE!