BREAKING: NBA Champion Reportedly Signing With Indiana Pacers

According to Alex Golden of Setting The Pace, the Indiana Pacers will sign NBA Champion Bruce Brown.

UPDATE: ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported more details. 

Via Wojnarowski: "ESPN reporting with @malikaandrews: Free agent Bruce Brown has agreed on a two-year, $45M deal with the Indiana Pacers, his agents Ty Sullivan and Steven Heumann of @CAASports tell ESPN. Denver — limited in what it could pay — loses a key piece to its repeat hopes."

ESPN reporting with @malikaandrews: Free agent Bruce Brown has agreed on a two-year, $45M deal with the Indiana Pacers, his agents Ty Sullivan and Steven Heumann of @CAASports tell ESPN. Denver — limited in what it could pay — loses a key piece to its repeat hopes.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 30, 2023

On Friday evening, NBA free agency has begun around the league, and the Indiana Pacers are one of the first teams to make a move (reportedly).  

According to Alex Golden of Setting The Pace, the Pacers will sign 2023 NBA Champion Bruce Brown Jr., who is coming off an excellent season with the Denver Nuggets.    

Via Golden: "Per source, the Pacers are signing Bruce Brown Jr."

Per source, the Pacers are signing Bruce Brown Jr.

— Alex Golden (@AlexGoldenNBA) June 30, 2023

Brown helped the Nuggets finish as the first seed in the Western Conference and win the NBA Championship over Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat.  

The former Miami averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals per contest while shooting 48.3% from the field and 35.8% from the three-point range. 

Losing Brown to another team will be a significant blow for the defending NBA Champions, as he is also one of the best defenders in the league. 

Mike Malone said Bruce Brown wasn’t leaving Denver during their championship parade.

Brown just signed with the Pacers 😂 pic.twitter.com/LOZ2XJJjaQ

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 30, 2023

In addition to the Nuggets, the 26-year-old has also spent time with the Brooklyn Nets and Detroit Pistons (he was the 42nd pick in the 2018 NBA Draft). 

Brown's career averages are 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest while shooting 48.2% from the field and 34.1% from the three-point range in 349 regular season games (he has also played in 40 NBA Playoff games). 

The Pacers have been in rebuilding mode over each of the last two seasons, but they were surprisingly competitive through the first half of the 2022-23 season. 

They ultimately finished the year as the 11th seed in the Eastern Conference with a 35-47 record.