Brown Bids Spurs, San Antonio Farewell

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>By Bran Farschou</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><br>
<!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://nbahoopsonline.com/teams/UtahJazz/Articles/Brownjoinsjazz.html">NBAHoopsOnline.com</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
<!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.sahoops.net/MainStoryImages/goodbyedevin8jk.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--><br>
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For the better part of the last 10 years Devin Brown has been a fixture in San Antonio sports, but sadly that ended today. Brown signed a 2-year offer sheet with the Utah Jazz last week, and the Spurs announced they will not match it, making Brown the newest member of the Utah Jazz. <br>
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Devin Brown began his San Antonio Sports career in high school at South San West High school, where he flourished. He was given the chance to continue on with the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) Roadrunners, and then as a member of the San Antonio Spurs. The only interruption in Brown's sports life in San Antonio was a brief stay with the Denver Nuggets at the end of his rookie season(02-03).<br>
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However, Brown was not born in San Antonio, or even Texas for that matter. It is ironic that Devin was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, his new home once again. <br>
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Brown had a steller career at UTSA, where he was one of the most popular players ever to be on the team. In his four years at UTSA he averaged just over 18 points and 7 rebounds per game. This wasn’t enough to warrant being drafted by any NBA team, however. His popularity in San Antonio earned him an invite to the San Antonio Spurs summer league team where Brown impressed the coaches enough to be invited to training camp. Brown held his own during the NBA preseason and found himself on the Spurs roster opening night 2002 to the delight of local fans. <br>
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Brown's NBA honeymoon with the Spurs was short lived, however, lasting only 20 days and 7 games. Brown would next join the Fayetteville Patriots of the new NBDL averaging 17 points and 4 rebounds per game. He was also named to the all NBDL first team, the NBDL rookie of the year, and MVP. His play in the league so impressed the Nuggets that they signed him to a 10 day contract at the end of the season. Brown started two games for the Nuggets and averaged 6 points a game. <br>
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In the fall of 2003, Brown once again found himself in San Antonio on the Spurs training camp roster as well as the regular season roster, only this time he survived an entire season. In his second stint with the Spurs, Brown averaged 3 points and 2 rebounds a game, while shooting 43%. <br>
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The Spurs liked Brown so much after his second year, they elected to keep him. Brown rewarded the Spurs by having his best NBA season yet averaging a career high of 7.3 points a game and 2.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 42%. During March of 2005, Brown averaged 15 points a game before hurting his back, which caused him to miss the rest of the regular season. Brown would return in time for the playoffs, but his absence was costly as he never got back into the rotation and played in only 12 of 26 post season games. <br>
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Going into the 2005 off-season, Brown was rated among the best free agent shooting guard available. But with the NBA enacting the new amnesty rule, highly touted veteran shooting guards such as Michael Finley, and Derek Anderson were released and Browns value plummeted. The final blow came when the Spurs won the “Finley Sweepstakes” and signed Finley to a multi-year deal maing it unlikely a deal with the Spurs could be reached. <br>
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The Spurs now having Finley, along with All-star Manu Ginobili, and backup Brent Barry all but assured Brown's departure. Last weeks signing of the offer sheet with Utah ended Browns decade long affair with San Antonio Sports. Now the only time Brown will be in San Antonio are the two times a year the Jazz visit the Alamo city. <br>
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Leaving San Antonio for Utah is probably a good career move for Brown. The Jazz are thin at the two guard spot, having only defenseless sometimes sharp shooting Gordon Giricek, and 18 year old rookie Calvin Miles at the position. Brown will challenge Giricek for the starting job right away, and Miles won’t see much action at all this season. <br>
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Brown's biggest asset, which will help him win over his new head coach Jerry Sloan, is his ability to play on the ball defense. This is something the Jazz lacked last season and something they desperately need. If Devin can stay out of Sloan’s dog house, he will be the starting shooting guard this up coming season for the Utah Jazz. He should also put up his best numbers in the NBA thus far within Utah’s system. <br>
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<!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.nbaboards.net" target="top">NBA Boards dot Net</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://p204.ezboard.com/bsanantoniospurs62937.showUserPublicProfile?gid=blondie4spurs>Blondie4Spurs</A>  <IMG HEIGHT=10 WIDTH=10 SRC="http://homepage.eircom.net/~bray/em/orose.gif" BORDER=0> at: 9/11/05 4:50 pm<br></i>

Great Stuff Bran.<br>
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I think if Devin can stay on GPops good side, he will do well in staying on Sloan's good side. This is a nice aquisition if he can stay healthy. His back was his bniggest downfall last season. He was a scorer when often Manu was hurt and we lacked any spark.<br>
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Good for Devin!! Finally I have reason to like the Jazz!!<br>
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<!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :) --><img src=http://www.sahoops.net/smilies/smile.gif ALT=":)"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://supergino.com" target="top"><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.supergino.com/images/links/sglink3.gif" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--></a><!--EZCODE LINK END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></p><i></i>

I hope the Jazz realize DBO's just on loaner to them - we expect him back in two years <!--EZCODE EMOTICON START :P --><img src=http://www.sahoops.net/smilies/tongue.gif ALT=":P"><!--EZCODE EMOTICON END--> <p><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.sahoops.net/jackie/blondie4spursbanner.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>By Lya Wodraska</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--> <br>
<!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_3016955">The Salt Lake Tribune </a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
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After seven days of waiting and wondering, the expected result finally came for Devin Brown on Friday, as the San Antonio Spurs failed to match Utah's offer for the restricted free agent. <br>
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Brown, who was offered a two-year deal for a little more than $5 million from the Jazz, will join the team provided he passes a physical when he arrives in Utah next week. He will be introduced at a news conference on Wednesday. <br>
"More than anything, we're just happy the waiting game is over," said Brown's agent, Derrick Powell. "We feel Utah is only missing a couple of pieces from being a playoff team, and Devin is one of those pieces."<br>
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The 6-foot-5 Brown played in 67 games for the Spurs last season, averaging 7.4 points and 2.6 rebounds. He missed some games with a back injury, but played in the playoffs. The Jazz had a magnetic-resonance imaging performed on him when he was in town a month ago, and felt good enough about the exam results and his improvement to entertain a two-year deal.<br>
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"We know it's there and we have to be proactive about it," said Kevin O'Connor, Utah's vice president of basketball operations. "But we feel like he can make it stronger. If we had seen anything negative about it, we would have backed away right there." <br>
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Brown's presence nearly solidifies the roster for the Jazz, who still are expected to re-sign point guard Keith McLeod. <br>
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"I'm excited to come to Utah, I'll play hard every night," Brown said. "One thing about watching Utah play is they play hard every night. One of the attractions for playing for Utah is having a coach like Coach Sloan." <br>
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O'Connor said the Jazz wanted to sign Brown when he joined the league in 2002, but the Spurs beat Utah by a day. <br>
"He has a lot of toughness and quickness, and he has improved every year he has been in the league," O'Connor said. "San Antonio used him mostly as a two, but he can play the three, and that is going to help us." <br>
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<p><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.sahoops.net/jackie/blondie4spursbanner.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--></p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Good for Devin!! Finally I have reason to like the Jazz!!<hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> Agreed. I'll root for him and the Jazz just as long as they don't play the Spurs. <p></p><i></i>

<!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>Agreed. I'll root for him and the Jazz just as long as they don't play the Spurs. <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END-->me too <p><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.remembertheaba.com/TributeMaterial/GervinSwoopNice.jpg" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--></p><i></i>

I'll root for DBo but not the Jazz.... <p></p><i></i>

Yeah rooting for the Jazz is just plain discusting. Devin or not. <p><!--EZCODE CENTER START--><div style="text-align:center"><!--EZCODE FONT START--><span style="color:gray;font-family:century gothic;font-size:large;">Silver and Black Baby</span><!--EZCODE FONT END--></div><!--EZCODE CENTER END--><br>
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