NBA Rumors: Lakers targeting former NBA champion in trade

It’s crazy to think that this very same Los Angeles Lakers group made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season. There, however, they were no match for the eventual NBA champions, the Denver Nuggets.

The Nuggets were a flawless team. Their starting lineup was a match made in heaven, and all the role players stepped up big time in the playoffs, especially Bruce Brown Jr.

The former Brooklyn Net showed his defensive versatility by guarding almost one through five, slashing, cutting, knocking down threes, and being their energy guy on both ends of the floor. Now, he could be a Laker.

Lakers Want To Trade For Bruce Brown Jr.

“From the time the Lakers lost to Denver in the Conference Finals last year, there’s been one player they’ve been focused on acquiring Bruce Brown Jr,” reported Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. “There has been no shortage of teams reaching out to Toronto for Bruce Brown; he fits everywhere. The Lakers are among them. Continue to watch the Lakers with Bruce Brown to see if there’s a pathway.”

Brown’s great play wound up getting him a big contract with the Indiana Pacers in free agency. But now that he’s been dealt up north to the Toronto Raptors, the Lakers could be back in the mix for him:

“He was on the Denver team that eliminated the Lakers, they couldn’t afford to keep him,” said Woj. “In free agency, if Indiana hadn’t stepped up with a two-year, $45 million deal, there’s a very good chance Bruce Brown would have gone to the Lakers for the non-tax mid-level exception. The Lakers have continued to try and trade for him from the Pacers.”

Brown has proven to be a championship-caliber role player. He did trash-talk some of his potential new teammates, but they could bury the hatchet if he helps them straighten the course of the ship once and for all.