Bruce Brown wants to get paid — he’s made a little more than $15 million in his five NBA seasons and his salary next season likely starts somewhere around that number. This is a business, he’s going to grab the bag.
Bruce Brown wants to return to the Denver Nuggets, where he was a key role player in their run to the NBA title.
Those two things may be incompatible.
As expected, Brown opted out of his $6.8 million player option to become an unrestricted free agent, something first reported by Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Denver Nuggets G/F Bruce Brown Jr. is declining his $6.8 million player option for the 2023-24 season and will become a free agent, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Brown, a key member of the Nuggets title, faces decision of Denver return in free agency versus deal elsewhere.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 21, 2023
Under the rules of the CBA, the most the Nuggets can offer him is $7.8 million, well below his market value. Brown could do a “wink wink” deal with the Nuggets signing a 1+1 contract (a two-year deal with the second year being a player option) with the understanding he would opt out next summer when Denver had his Bird rights and would pay him the going rate, but that would come with risk.
For Brown, this is the chance not just to get a big payday but also to secure generational wealth. His low end on the market is four years at the mid-level exception (around $51 million for four years), but he likely lands more in the four years, $60+ million range. Can a player who has never made more than last season’s $6.8 million, walk away from that money? This is a “set your kids up for life” contract.
The Houston Rockets are among the teams potentially targeting Brown, and they have plenty of cap space.
If Brown is out in Denver, expect Payton Watson — the Long Beach Poly/UCLA star — to see an expanded role. The Nuggets staff and players speak highly of him, it was just hard to find him minutes on a veteran squad.
