According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, free agent Bruce Brown is on the move to the Indiana Pacers after agreeing in principle to a new two-year contract.
ESPN reporting with @malikaandrews: Free agent Bruce Brown has agreed on a two-year, $45M deal with the Indiana Pacers, his agents Ty Sullivan and Steven Heumann of @CAASports tell ESPN. Denver — limited in what it could pay — loses a key piece to its repeat hopes.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2023
Brown will receive $45 over two years, a massive pay day for the 26-year-old guard that helped lead the Denver Nuggets to their first championship in franchise history just three weeks ago.
The Nuggets knew Brown departing in free agency was a significant possibility, having signed Brown to a one-year deal last off-season at a below market rate. With Brown’s bird rights, the Nuggets could only offer the 26-year-old a 20% raise off of last year’s salary up to $7.7 million. Unfortunately, the Pacers were able to triple Brown’s previous salary with the cap space they had, and that left the Nuggets without an avenue to re-sign their top free agent target.
According to Ben Golliver of the Washington Post, it’s slightly less lucrative than many thought though, with a team option in the second season.
Bruce Brown's 2-year, $45 million agreement with Pacers has a team option on second year, per sources.
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 30, 2023
Brown averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 28.5 minutes per game with the Nuggets this past season. His versatility, aggressiveness, and improved offensive game made him an invaluable piece in Denver’s championship run, filling it at point guard, shooting guard, and small forward throughout the playoffs. The Nuggets have their entire starting lineup returning and are unlikely to see significant drop-off during the regular season next year, but the playoffs are a different story.
Brown proved to be Denver’s most reliable and malleable bench player, and finding a single player to fill each of the roles he had for the Nuggets is likely an impossible task. The Nuggets will likely turn to young wings Christian Braun and Peyton Watson as developmental options. Both have the makings of elite NBA defenders, but whether they can step up on the offensive end to fill Brown’s role as a jack-of-all-trades option in Denver’s system remains to be seen.
For the Pacers, Brown will likely slide into a starting role next to Tyrese Haliburton, a dynamic playmaker with a litany of skills. Brown makes sense as a point-of-attack defender in Indiana, a role filled this past season by rookie Andrew Nembhard. The Pacers have some young talent on the wings with Bennedict Mathurin and incoming rookie Jarace Walker. Brown would set a great example for those players and bring some winning perspective to a young roster.
The Nuggets will miss Bruce, but he earned this contract and absolutely deserves every penny he can get after missing out last off-season. His loss was Denver’s gain, and he will always be an honorary Nugget for his contributions to their championship.
