The Los Angeles Lakers were swept by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals before Denver went on to win the NBA Finals in five games. While the Lakers fell short, the latest NBA rumors indicate that the purple and gold could get revenge this summer.
Los Angeles has more financial flexibility than Denver and after watching the Nuggets’ role players step up in the Conference Finals, Rob Pelinka and Co. seem to be interested. Just like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope jumped ship (not by his choice) to the Nuggets, a key Denver role player may jump ship in return.
The Lakers have been named as a team to watch in the Bruce Brown market. Brown rejected his player option earlier this offseason in search for a bigger pay day. Los Angeles can provide exactly that.
One team with significant interest in signing Bruce Brown away from Denver is the Los Angeles Lakers, multiple sources told @denverpost.
— Mike Singer (@msinger) June 28, 2023
The Lakers could offer him the full MLE ($12.3M annually). Nuggets can only offer up to $7.8M this year.
Bruce Brown NBA rumors make a lot of sense for the Lakers.
Nothing is guaranteed in the NBA but if the Lakers are willing to give Brown the full MLE then there is a decent chance that they could steal the important role player. It makes a lot of sense for the Lakers to offer Brown the full MLE as he fits exactly what this roster needs.
Brown is a versatile combo guard that can play anywhere from the point to the three. He is not someone who is going to initiate a lot of the offense but the Lakers don’t need that with LeBron James on the roster. They just need more guard depth to fill out a full, capable rotation.
Brown was a key member of the Nuggets’ title win and while his overall numbers were not amazing, he had several key moments throughout the playoff run that showed his worth. Heck, in the first three wins against the Lakers, Brown averaged 14.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists while shooting 40% from three.
The series may have been a sweep but it was a lot more competitive than the final records indicated. If Brown would have switched jerseys and played for LA then the series could have gone much differently. If he played for the Lakers like he did the Nuggets then LA might be NBA Champions right now.
Is Brown alone the answer to winning a championship? Absolutely not. Building a complete rotation is the answer to winning a championship and Brown could play a big part in that.