Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets. Image via: NBA
That leaves Los Angeles searching for its next move, and a familiar name has resurfaced: Bruce Brown, the 2023 champion who once tried to sign with the Lakers before a front-office call sent him elsewhere. Nearly two months into free agency, Brown is still unsigned, and L.A. is reportedly back in the mix.
Category Details Player Bruce Brown Current Team Denver Nuggets (unsigned, 2026 free agency) Rumored Team Los Angeles Lakers Contract Status Unsigned free agent Salary Cap Hit — Signing Likelihood Speculative, per insider reporting Latest Insider Update Jake Fischer, Bleacher Report Jonathan Kuminga’s decision closed one door, but it didn’t end the Lakers’ search for roster depth. Brown instead built a résumé that includes a title with Denver in 2023 and a two-year, $45 million deal with Indiana in 2023 as well. He returned to the Nuggets last season and played all 82 games, and across his career has earned $63 million. At 6-foot-4, he can defend multiple positions, handle the ball, and space the floor, shooting a career-best 38.5% from three last season. At 30, with declining scoring numbers since his Indiana contract, he’s being treated by most teams as a minimum-salary option rather than a multi-year investment.
“I was going to the Lakers after the championship,” he said, describing a plan built around joining LeBron James and Anthony Davis in what was then a Western Conference Finals roster. Brown, an eight-year veteran, nearly landed in Los Angeles once before. Free agency moved fast, and that version of the deal never happened. Brown’s appeal is his range. For a Lakers team built around Luka Doncic, that kind of two-way flexibility would help when Doncic needs rest. Brown doesn’t need touches to be useful, and that fits a bench role better than a featured one. Brown’s stat line reads like a role player, not a max-level signing, which is exactly why his market has moved slowly. For the Lakers, that’s the appeal: a proven, championship-tested veteran who might not cost much to add.
