The Lakers are still circling the veteran market, and Bruce Brown is now a name to keep an eye on.
After missing out on Jonathan Kuminga, Los Angeles may not be done shopping. Jake Fischer said during a Bleacher Report stream that he believes Brown is “in the mix” for the Lakers, and the connection makes sense given the team’s long-standing interest in the veteran.
Brown, 30, played in all 82 games for Denver last season and put up 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per night while hitting 38 percent of his 3-point tries. He also brings championship experience, having played a key role in the Nuggets’ 2023 title run.
The fit is easy to picture. The Lakers have already added a batch of defensive-minded wings in Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle and Quentin Grimes, and Brown would give them another versatile, proven piece in that same mold.
The hurdle is real, though. Los Angeles can only offer Brown a minimum deal, and the team would need to clear a roster spot before anything could happen.
So this is far from a done deal. Still, after the Kuminga chase came up empty, the Lakers are clearly continuing to scan the board.
In Indiana, Aaron Nesmith got a summer unlike the one he’d prefer to repeat.
The Pacers went 19-63 last season, a rough finish to a year that followed their trip to the 2025 NBA Finals. Nesmith said at the Pacers Foundation Charity Softball Classic that the long offseason gave him a chance to recover and tighten up parts of his game, especially his ball-handling and decision-making.
“It was good getting a long offseason and getting the body right,” Nesmith said, via Grant Afseth of Roundtable. “Working on some things we need to work on and just the excitement of getting back to playing meaningful games again.”
Nesmith appeared in just 45 games last season and averaged 13.8 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 37.9 percent from deep.
Indiana’s roster will look different this time. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. were added in free agency, and Ivica Zubac came over in the February trade that sent Bennedict Mathurin to the Clippers. Tyrese Haliburton is also expected back after sitting out last season while recovering from his Achilles injury.
After 19 wins, “meaningful games” would be a welcome step forward.
Orlando, meanwhile, may get a pretty fast read on where it stands.
The Magic open with a schedule that asks plenty of them right away, including nine road games in November and a four-game Western Conference trip that month. The trip starts at Phoenix on Nov. 5 and Golden State on Nov. 7, then finishes with back-to-back games at Sacramento and Utah on Nov. 10-11.
That’s a tough way to ease into the season. Orlando also has 14 back-to-backs, with nine of them coming before the All-Star break.
Health is the obvious storyline. Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs give the Magic real talent, but availability has been a problem in recent seasons. There’s also a new face at the top, with Sean Sweeney stepping in as an NBA head coach for the first time.
It’s late August, so none of this is set in stone. But Orlando won’t have to wait long to see what kind of team it has.
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Magic Face An Early Test That Could Derail The Season
The early part of the Orlando Magics 2026-27 season is going to ask plenty of questions before the calendar even gets to December. A schedule packed with 14 back-to-back games and a road-heavy opening stretch leaves little room for easing into Sean Sweeneys first year on the sideline, especially with nine road games in November alone. Along the way, the Magic are set to run into a difficult mix of opponents, including the Suns, Warriors, Kings and Jazz.
For a team trying to build momentum under a new coach, the concern is not just who is on the schedule, but how the group holds up through it. Health will matter, of course, but so will the way Sweeney manages minutes, travel and recovery during a stretch that could shape the tone of the season long before the games become easier. [Read more 🡒]