Report: Bruce Brown Declines Nuggets Contract Option After NBA Title Win to Be UFA

Guard Bruce Brown declined the $6.8 million player option in his contract for the 2023-24 season Wednesday, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, meaning he will become an unrestricted free agent.

After spending two seasons each with the Detroit Pistons and Brooklyn Nets, Brown signed a two-year deal with the Denver Nuggets before the 2022-23 season with a player option for 2023-24.

The versatile 26-year-old veteran played a pivotal role for a Nuggets team that earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and went on to win the NBA championship, averaging 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

He also averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals in 20 playoff games.

Brown split time between starting and coming off the bench last season, but he still set a career high in scoring average, making him an ideal supporting-cast member alongside Nikola Jokić, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. and Aaron Gordon.

Since being a second-round draft pick out of Miami in 2018, Brown has exceeded expectations and carved out an important spot for himself with each of the three teams he has played for.

His greatest value has arguably been on the defensive end, as he has averaged at least four rebounds per game in each of the past four seasons and at least one steal per game in three of the past four campaigns.

Brown has also improved as a three-point shooter in recent years, making him the type of three-and-D player who teams covet.

He shot a career-best 40.4 percent from beyond the arc with the Nets in 2021-22, and he followed that by averaging a career-high 1.1 three-pointers made per game last season.

Given the strides Brown made on a top team in 2022-23, his earning potential reached new levels, and it came as little surprise that he opted out.