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The Phoenix Suns today signed guard Shannon Brown to a one-year deal, the team has announced.
In Brown, the Suns add an athletic 26-year-old guard, who is a two-time NBA Champion (2009, 2010) and both a dynamic finisher in the open floor and a respected three-point shooter.
The 6-4, 210-pound Brown is a five-year veteran who has played for the Cleveland Cavaliers (2006-07), Chicago Bulls (2007-08), Charlotte Bobcats (2008-09) and Los Angeles Lakers (2009-11). Originally selected by the Cavaliers with the 25th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Brown was chosen by a Cleveland front office that featured current Suns General Manager Lance Blanks. Brown signed a free agent deal with the Bobcats before the start of the 2008-09 season and was briefly a teammate of current Suns forward Jared Dudley before Dudley was acquired by the Suns. Ultimately, Brown was acquired by the Lakers (along with Adam Morrison in exchange for Vladimir Radmanovic) from the Bobcats before the 2009 trade deadline, and became a valuable part of the Lakers’ bench as the club won back-to-back league titles.
The Michigan State product joins the Suns after his two best seasons as a professional. Brown played a full 82 games in both 2009-10 and 2010-11, averaging a then-career high 8.1 points in 2009-10 before besting that number with an 8.7-point clip a season ago. Over the last two seasons, Brown averaged 8.4 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 19.9 minutes, despite seeing limited action behind Laker guard Kobe Bryant. Brown owns career NBA averages of 6.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 256 games (16 starts).
Estimated to have a 44.5-inch vertical leap, one of the highest in the league, Brown is known for his high-flying, highlight-reel dunks. A mainstay on Youtube, Brown participated in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star weekend in Dallas. In addition, Brown has added increased long-range accuracy to his repertoire, setting career highs in three-pointers made in each of the last three seasons (74 in 2010-11). Brown is a career 33.7-percent three-point shooter who made 34.9 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc in 2010-11.
Brown was a three-year performer at Michigan State (2003-06), who averaged 17.2 points as a junior before being named All-Big Ten Second Team and to the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team. A graduate of Proviso East High School in Maywood, Ill., Brown was a First Team Parade All-American, McDonald’s All-American, Illinois Mr. Basketball and co-MVP of the Jordan Capital Classic (with LeBron James) as a senior in 2003.
