5 free agents for the Orlando Magic to keep an eye on
5 free agents for the Orlando Magic to keep an eye on
Bruce Brown, Denver Nuggets
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/16/2023.
The Orlando Magic frankly just need better players too. As simple as that sounds, it is still a complex and difficult thing to find. Getting two-way players helps. And finding 3-and-D players is still the ultimate goal. That is how the Magic advance.
They want to be a defensive-minded team and really buckle down on that end. So as much as the team needs shooting, it needs guys who can defend well too.
So like with Gary Trent Jr., the Magic also have to have their focus on shooting too. So finding guys who can do both (like Trent in many ways, honestly) is a valuable thing.
As much as fans have had their eyes on Gary Trent Jr. then, they have had their eyes on Bruce Brown too.
The former Miami Hurricane has caught on with the Denver Nuggets this year, averaging 11.3 points per game and shooting 38.8 percent from beyond the arc. This a year after he made 40.4 percent of his threes with the Brooklyn Nets in 2022.
He is hitting 41.1 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-pointers and 42.6 percent above the break. Brown is a great 3-point shooter.
That only earned Brown a two-year deal with a player option for next year at $6.8 million. He is due for a pretty substantial raise. One the Denver Nuggets are unlikely to be able to meet with all the salary they now have committed.
Brown is a very gettable player who fills that shooting need for the Magic. But also could be a solid defender.
He records 1.4 steals per 75 possessions and 2.4 deflections per 75 possessions. He rates in the 86th percentile according to Basketball-Index in screen navigation and in the 89th percentile in off-ball chaser.
That shows a ton of defensive potential. But he is not changing the Nuggets’ defense, which has at times been poor this year. He could benefit from being around other lockdown defenders.
The Magic need to find versatile and mobile defenders. And that is something Brown could provide. He should definitely be on the list and the radar as free agency approaches.