The Denver Nuggets lost a key piece to their bench and one of the biggest contributing factors to their success throughout their run to the Championship this past postseason. On Friday, Bruce Brown accepted a two-year, $45 million contract from the Indiana Pacers.
Brown’s contract with the Pacers is a nod to his outstanding play in the playoffs, a component to Denver’s success both in the regular season and the postseason. Brown’s previous five years in the league netted him $15 million, a figure he will now eclipse in just his first season with the Pacers.
Brown quickly became a fan favorite in Denver and was praised by teammates and coaches during the cham- pionship celebration parade in Denver last month. Brown even asked fans if they wanted him to return which was met with a resounding yes from the 750,000+ fans that day.
While Brown departure wasn’t a huge surprise, it does leave a fairly large gap to fill for the Denver Nuggets. Since Friday’s announcement of Brown’s departure, the Nuggets resigned Reggie Jackson a player who will likely see more playing time as a result of Brown’s signing with the Pacers.
Additionally the Nuggets lost Jeff Green, who agreed to a one-year deal with the Houston Rockets worth $6 million. While the loss of ‘Uncle Jeff,’ who was another fan favor- ite the Nuggets managed to hold on to veteran DeAndre Jordan, although the details of his contract are still unclear.
Although the Nuggets added 10-year vet Justin Holiday on Sunday, to a one-year deal, Denver will now have to rely heavily on a plethora of young players to step up in order for Denver to make a run at a second championship next season.
The Colorado Avalanche too have lost some key pieces to their championship roster, after defenceman Erik Johnson signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres. Additionally the Avs lost J.T. Compher to a five-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings worth $25.5 million. Forwards Matt Nieto and Lars Eller both signed two-year deals with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Avalanche center, Evan Rodrigues is headed to Florida but Colorado managed to keep Jack Johnson, Bo Byram, Andrew Cogliano and Justus Annunen. Byram signed a two-year contract, while Cogliano and Johnson signed one-year contracts.
In other sports the Colorado Rockies continue to fall in the National League West with no bottom in sight. The Rockies lost two games to one in their series with the Detroit Tigers this week losing Sunday afternoon, 14-9 in front of the home crowd at Coors Field.
The Rockies are in Houston this week to face the Astros who are four games out of the top of the American League West Texas Rangers. This weekend the Rockies head to San Francisco to face the Giants in a three-game series.
