Nuggets give latest hint that Bruce Brown is not returning

It’s a jersey number, not a report or a news conference, but in a summer of signals about Bruce Brown leaving Denver, this one is pretty loud.

The Nuggets officially announced the signing of Alpha Diallo on Tuesday, and the graphic the team posted showed him wearing No. 11 — Bruce Brown’s number in both of his stints in Denver.

Could Brown come back and just pick a different number? Sure. Could the Nuggets have simply assigned Diallo the next available jersey without thinking twice? Maybe. But that’s not how it typically works with fan favorites who won a championship and have their jersey for sale in the team store.

It feels like the biggest sign yet, in a summer full of them, that Brown won’t be back.

Brown, who turns 30 later this month, remains an unrestricted free agent more than five weeks into free agency. He played all 82 games for the Nuggets last season, averaging 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 47.5% shooting and 38.5% from deep. He was even better post All-Star Break when the Nuggets rattled off a dozen-straight wins to end their regular season. Like the rest of the Nuggets playoff run, Brown’s postseason was forgettable, though Jamal Murray did call him the best perimeter defender on the team during their six-game loss to Minnesota.

Brown was a beloved glue guy in Denver’s 2023 title run before leaving for Indiana on a payday, bouncing to Toronto and then landing back with the Nuggets on a minimum deal a year ago. Brown played nearly 2,000 minutes for the Nuggets last season and if he’s actually gone, that pushes Tyus Jones and Julian Strawther up to the second team backcourt. Last year those role were filled by Brown, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Jalen Pickett, each of whom have signed with new teams.

The Nuggets do have an open roster spot even if they brought back Watson. But it’s unlikely the team fills in a 15th man when every dollar is being taxed out the wazoo as deep as Denver is into the repeat luxury tax penalty.

Diallo, the reigning EuroLeague Defensive Player of the Year out of AS Monaco, signed for a rookie minimum of $1.4 million — a number the Nuggets got specifically because he’s never played in the NBA. A veteran minimum for Brown would cost more against the cap and push the tax bill even higher.

Diallo, 29, is 6-foot-6 and 207 pounds, averaged 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals across 77 games for Monaco last season, and won back-to-back French league Defensive Player of the Year honors. The knock will be the unknown — he’s never played an NBA minute — but the hope is that what he takes away on defense is the best bang for the Nuggets buck.

As noted here last month, Brown’s departure was already baked into the math when looking at the Nuggets’ projected roster. I had listed him under “Departures” with the caveat “for now.” It appears the “for now” has quietly expired.

Brown’s market hasn’t been robust. The Lakers, who were into him a few years ago, were floated as a suitor weeks ago, but nothing materialized. At this point, the veteran guard is among a handful of notable names — alongside Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook — still looking for a home in August.

For Nuggets fans who remember Brown getting to the rim in the Finals, or the emotion of his return to Ball Arena last fall, this one stings. It’s hard to see how Brown wouldn’t be a useful player to the Nuggets with his availability, versatility, chemistry and connection to the crowd. But the Nuggets are prioritizing Watson and this is one of the many side effects.

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