Former Nuggets sixth man Bruce Brown traded in blockbuster deal

Several months after winning an NBA championship, former Denver Nuggets sixth man Bruce Brown Jr. is on the move again.

The key cog for the Nuggets signed a big money deal with the Indiana Pacers this past offseason, and on Wednesday, he was shipped to Toronto with three first-round draft picks for Raptors star Pascal Siakam. The two-time All-NBA forward needs a contract extension, and the Raptors have finally begun a teardown, which began with a trade of Og Anunoby to the Knicks last month. Meanwhile, the Pacers have taken a leap this season. They made it to the In Season Tournament finale and are sixth in the East led by Tyrese Haliburton, who looks to be the lead guard of the upcoming American Olympic team.

Though Brown was part of that success, he was third on the team in rebounds, fourth in assists and fifth in points per game. Brown’s stats are actually almost all up across the board this year—but his efficiency numbers are down from his standout season in 2022-23.

Brown, 27, got his championship ring on Sunday in Denver as the Pacers visited the Mile High City. He’ll actually be back with the Raptors on March, 11. But don’t expect the movement to mean Brown will rejoin the Nuggets anytime soon. Though he could become a free agent this offseason since he signed a two-year deal with the second year being a club option last summer—a lot needs to happen. First off, thanks to the new CBA rules, which hurt the Nuggets chances of resigning Brown to begin with, they could not pick him up this year if the Raptors waived him—similar to how Denver got Reggie Jackson last season. Second, Toronto would need to decline his $23 million player option for next season to make him a free agent. Thanks to new CBA rules the Nuggets are close to the second apron line, which would prevent them from using a near $6 million exception to sign a role player. In order to clear that money, Denver would need Jackson to decline his player option at $6 million (unlikely) and have Kentavious Caldwell-Pope decline his at $15 million and sign an extension at a cheaper number at around $12 million.

All of this is to say, even though Brown has already been dealt from his new home—Wednesday’s big trade had no impact on the likelihood the beloved former Nugget will return to Denver soon. Brown will have to enjoy life in his fifth NBA city and hope if he wants to be in the postseason this year that he’ll get dealt a second time.

Further, while the Pacers did get stronger in the move, the trade shouldn’t really impact the Nuggets as the Raptors will likely tank out and have already moved their biggest assets, and the Pacers are going to be a mid-tier playoff team out east. Denver does play in Indy next week, which will likely be Siakam’s home debut.