Lakers Have ‘Significant Interest’ In Landing Key Nuggets Champion Wing

The Los Angeles Lakers lost the Western Conference Finals to the Denver Nuggets and it looks like they have found a missing piece of their puzzle in one particular wing. The Nuggets became champions this season, leaving the Lakers behind. Rob Pelinka and other members of the Lakers front office are already looking for new additions. Is Bruce Brown one of them?

Brown helped the Nuggets make the big game, but other NBA teams could offer better deals and get him. Mike Singer from Denver Post was among the first to discuss this possibility. According to him, Pelinka and the Lakers front office have shown “significant interest” in the Nuggets wing. This could be a ground-breaking scenario for the purple and gold.

One team with significant interest in signing Bruce Brown away from Denver is the Los Angeles Lakers, multiple sources told @denverpost.

The Lakers could offer him the full MLE ($12.3M annually). Nuggets can only offer up to $7.8M this year.

— Mike Singer (@msinger) June 28, 2023

“There are not a lot of guys in their wheelhouse with that (midlevel exception), especially if they are looking at a wing,” one league executive said this week. “And Brown could stay put in Denver if he is willing to give up the money. He could get a crazy offer from a cap-space team but none of those teams are gonna be competitive next year.

“But the Lakers, that situation would keep him in the hunt for a championship and allow him to get big money now instead of later.”

Lakers could find great use for the Nuggets wing

Brown was a Nuggets wing for a season as he inked a taxpayer mid-level exception contract in 2022. The Nuggets cannot force him to stay and may not offer him a big paycheck. Denver could offer Brown a one-year deal worth $8 million. Brown was a powerhouse in the postseason and he may want a bigger contract.

In the playoffs with the Nuggets, Brown averaged 12.0 points which is above his career average of 11.5 points. The talented wing was fourth in the NBA postseason as a bench scorer. Malik Monk, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Rui Hachimura are in the top 3.

If the Lakers get Brown, they will probably consider giving him a key role. LeBron James and AD will get top roles and D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves will take care of the backcourt. How does this sound to NBA analysts?