Back in 2023 the Denver Nuggets swept the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Finals on their way to winning the NBA Championship. Of course, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray were leading the charge, but arguably the biggest X-factor for that Nuggets team was Bruce Brown.
A do-it-all reserve, Brown filled in a ton of the gaps for the Nuggets on their way to that title and, as such, became a prized free agent target for many teams that following summer. One of those teams was the Lakers themselves, and Brown nearly became a member of the purple and gold.
On a recent edition of the DNVR Nuggets podcast, Brown revealed he very nearly signed with the Lakers in free agency and had already begun preparing for the move before the Indiana Pacers came through with a better offer:
Bruce Brown was about to sign a 3-year, $50 million contract with the Lakers after the Nuggets championship 🤯👀
"They wanted me to be their starting point guard."
Then the Pacers came in with a better offer 💰
📺 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄: https://t.co/buKFYsM6JT pic.twitter.com/QCuigFg5Di
— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) December 17, 2025
It’s long been known how much the Lakers value Brown and their efforts to acquire him. Even after Brown signed with the Pacers, there were still many rumors of the Lakers trying to trade for him when he was made available. So the Lakers being so close to signing Brown outright after seeing first hand the kind of impact he can have on a championship-caliber team is a gut punch.
Brown didn’t quite have the same impact in his time in Indiana as well as with the Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Pelicans, but he is a player that benefits most from being on a true contender to really see his value. As such, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see Brown return to Denver this season when given the opportunity.
Who knows if Brown could have been the difference in the Lakers making a deeper playoff run as opposed to losing in the first round the past two seasons. But thanks to the Pacers offering him nearly equal money on a shorter contract, that question will remain unanswered.
Gabe Vincent out with back injury
One of the players the Lakers would go on to sign in the summer of 2023 was Gabe Vincent. Unfortunately, the guard has had some bad injury luck since joining the team and will now be out at least a week as he deals with a back issue.
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