When the Denver Nuggets won the 2023 NBA championship, Bruce Brown was a big part of that title run. He ended up using that playoff run to earn a bigger contract from the Indiana Pacers. Since his departure, the Nuggets haven’t quite been able to replicate his bench production. And now, as the NBA trade deadline draws near, the Nuggets are reportedly interested in a reunion with Bruce Brown, as per NBA insider Jake Fischer.
But it would have to be after the NBA trade deadline passes for the Nuggets to potentially reunite with Bruce Brown. Brown has an expiring contract and the Toronto Raptors are reportedly looking to move him ahead of the deadline.
Should the Raptors to fail to find a taker for Brown via trade, he could become a candidate to hit the buyout market. It would be through free agency that the Nuggets could look to reacquire Brown. But it wouldn’t be so cut and dry for them. The Nuggets would have to make a trade of their own to get under the tax as a first apron team.
Fischer reports that the buyout market would be the Nuggets’ best option to upgrade their roster, but that they would have to weight the pros and cons of making a trade in order to be able to sign a player like Brown.
Bruce Brown’s impact this season
There’s no question that the Nuggets would benefit from having Brown back on the roster. They have been searching for consistent depth ever since, although the Nuggets seem to have found something in Russell Westbrook in recent weeks.
Following the Nuggets’ 2023 championship run, Brown signed a two-year contract with the Pacers in free agency. The Pacers ended up trading him the same season by the 2024 NBA trade deadline in the trade that brought Pascal Siakam from the Raptors.
Brown has missed the majority of this season due to a knee injury, but he has since returned to the Raptors lineup.
Brown has appeared in nine games so far for the Raptors this season, at a little over 18 minutes per game. He’s been averaging 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds with splits of 43.3 percent shooting from the field, 31.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 72.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
During Brown’s playoff run with the Nuggets, he averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals with splits of 51.1 percent shooting from the field, 31.6 percent shooting from the three-point line and 85.7 percent shooting from the free-throw line.