Several months before a blockbuster deal brought Luka Doncic to the Lakers, they needed a starting-caliber point guard in the 2023-24 season. Bruce Brown, the Denver Nuggets’ veteran point guard, recently revealed that he was inches away from filling that gap for the Lakers.
Brown initially said the Suns and the Lakers were two teams that reached out to him when he became a free agent last summer. He eventually ended up signing a one-year, $3,080,921 deal with the Nuggets.
But just after he won a championship with the Nuggets at the end of the 2022-23 season, Brown became a free agent, and recalled how he was offered a three-year, $50 million deal from the Lakers at the time. The Lakers’ head coach in that season was Darvin Ham, who wanted Brown to start for the Lakers.
“I was going to the Lakers after the championship,” said Brown on the DNVR Nuggets podcast as the hosts were left in sheer disbelief.
“I was going to the Lakers. Free agency started, they called me and Darvin Ham’s head coach, JO’s there. Jo’s my guy,” said Brown while recalling how Darvin Ham and Jordan Ott, who was an assistant coach on the Lakers at the time, were interested in adding him to their roster.
“And they wanted me to be the starting point guard. So, I’m like, I got LeBron, I got AD, I got guys who went to the Western Conference Finals. I want to win again,” Brown added while explaining why he saw the Lakers as a fitting landing spot.
“I could be a starter point guard for this team. And all I’m doing is getting them the ball and getting the hell out of the way. Same job I’m doing here [with the Nuggets].”
“And I was like, I’m going to do it. And I was going there for a three-year deal,” Brown admitted.
“It was so quick cause as soon as I got off the phone, it’s basically going to be announced, right? Like, as soon as you say yes. So I called my financial advisor. I’m like, ‘we’ve got to find places in LA,’ which is super expensive, right?”
“But, good thing I lived in New York. So he’s telling me about my budget, and as soon as I get off the phone, my agent’s calling again, and he’s like, ‘Hold on, we got a call from Indie.’ Boom. Boom. I’m like, ‘Okay.’ He’s like, ‘It might be a crazy deal,'” Brown explained on the anticipation of getting more offers beyond the Lakers at the time of his 2023 free agency.
“Hang up. Calls me again, [says] two years, 40 [million]. I’m like, ‘What the f**k? What do you mean, two years, 40? Where do we sign? Like, let’s do it.’ That works,” said Brown upon accepting that he rejected the Lakers’ offer solely due to money.
“It was still three years, 50 [million], but I would have a trade kicker,” Brown explained the Lakers’ offer at the time.
“Then, so they [Pacers] offered me two years, 40. And, but the person who got it done said the second year was a team option.”
“Tyrese [Haliburton] called me and was like, ‘Listen, we’re trying to get it done. We really want you here. Like, I want you here. I want to play with you.’ Boom. Boom. Cause they want to play fast and transition or whatever. And then two years, 45 [million],” concluded Brown.
Brown, after signing a two-year, $45 million deal with the Pacers, ended up becoming a trade piece for them to eventually land Pascal Siakam in a trade with the Raptors. He was subsequently traded to the Pelicans before ending up with the Nuggets.
Brown averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in 2023-24 for the Pacers and the Raptors combined in 67 games. He shot 47.8% from the floor in that season.
Had Brown taken the Lakers’ offer, maybe things would have turned out differently for the duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Maybe Luka Doncic would never have become a Lakers player.
Moreover, the Pacers would not have landed Siakam in a trade deal to help them reach the Eastern Conference Finals. There are a lot such what-ifs on this potential deal’s aftermath.
While his contributions could have varied on the Lakers, it would certainly have been interesting to potentially see Brown in that purple and gold jersey. Since perimeter defense was one of their primary concerns, he could have fulfilled that requirement at the time to potentially win a championship with the Lakers.
