The Denver Nuggets went a different direction with their bench this offseason, and that shift left one familiar face still looking for his next stop. Bruce Brown, a key part of Denver’s 2022-23 championship run, is still on the market two months into free agency.
The Nuggets filled out their backcourt depth by bringing in Tyus Jones, DeMar DeRozan, and Alpha Diallo, moving on from Tim Hardaway Jr., Jalen Pickett, and Brown. That change makes Brown’s status even more striking, considering how important he once was to Denver’s rotation.
During the title season, Brown averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 28.5 minutes across 80 games, and he started 31 times. That was the high point of his run, and since then he has spent time with the Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors, and New Orleans Pelicans before returning to Denver three years later.
Last season, Brown was the Nuggets’ most durable player, appearing in all 82 games. But the production dipped. He finished with 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in 24.4 minutes per game, though he still knocked down 38.5% of his three-pointers.
Even with the regression, Brown still looks like the kind of veteran who can help the right team. He’s 30, he isn’t washed up, and there has been real interest. He just hasn’t found a landing spot yet.
NBA insider Jake Fischer said the Philadelphia 76ers had interest in Brown, but they ended up with LeBron James and former Nuggets champion teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope instead. Brown doesn’t bring KCP’s level of defense, and LeBron is obviously still one of the league’s elite players, so the pivot made sense.
Fischer believes Brown will wind up on a "playoff-caliber team. It's just a matter of where and when," Fischer said.
That fits the profile. Brown still has the kind of experience and versatility that can matter for a contender, even if Denver’s 2026-27 roster probably won’t be his next home.
For the Nuggets, the move away from Brown also lines up with the reality of their roster and cap situation. They chose to reshape their bench, and in Alpha Diallo they see a different kind of answer.
Diallo, the EuroLeague Defensive Player of the Year this season, may be a 29-year-old rookie, but Denver believes his defense can cover the gaps left by Peyton Watson and Brown. The Nuggets needed a defensive specialist, and Diallo gives them that.
In Other News...
Nuggets Roster Shuffle Suddenly Feels Like More Than Bookkeeping
What looked like a routine roster move for Denver quickly became part of a larger summer reshuffle. Julian Reese, a 6-foot-9 forward-center who spent last season on a two-way deal with Washington and saw action in 13 NBA games, was brought in as part of the Peyton Watson sign-and-trade before the Nuggets decided to move on from him.
The waiver clears the way for Denver to keep working the back end of its roster, and the timing matters with the two-way market still in play. It also leaves the Nuggets with an open two-way spot, another small but meaningful piece of business as they sort through how they want the rest of the group to look. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets Face A Real Jokic Lineup Debate After Last Year's Defensive Issues
The Nuggets kept their core intact this summer, but the most interesting changes came around the edges, where the bench got a fresh look with DeMar DeRozan, Marvin Bagley III, Alpha Diallo and Trevon Brazile. With Denver still trying to solve the defensive problems that cropped up last season, the front office and coaching staff are clearly open to different lineup wrinkles, especially ones that add more size without sacrificing too much of the offense that runs through Nikola Jokic.
One of the ideas worth watching is how much the Nuggets lean into bigger combinations, since the team has been searching for ways to make life easier on that end of the floor. Bagley gives them another option to pair with Jokic, and the intrigue is less about whether the Nuggets can create a different look than whether that look can hold up when the games tighten and the margins get smaller. [Read more 🡒]
Nuggets May Need DeMar DeRozan In A Role Fans Didn't Expect
The Nuggets have spent the offseason looking for ways to patch their point-guard depth, and one of the more intriguing ideas on the board is a role for DeMar DeRozan that goes well beyond his usual scoring profile. Behind Jamal Murray, Denver does not have a lot of obvious backcourt answers, so the conversation has shifted toward whether DeRozan could help steady the second unit and keep the offense organized when Murray sits.
That kind of usage would lean on DeRozans experience as more of a point-forward, especially in pick-and-roll actions, and it would give head coach David Adelman another way to keep the ball moving without asking one player to handle everything. It is an unconventional fit on paper, but it is the sort of adjustment that can matter for a team trying to survive the non-Murray minutes without losing its rhythm. [Read more 🡒]