Pacers
Guard Bruce Brown said he loved his time with the Nuggets and winning a championship last season. He signed with the Pacers in free agency, anyway.
“I actually just texted the guys,” Brown said after Tuesday’s practice, shortly before the Nuggets received their championship rings and then beat the Lakers. “I’m going to be watching. I’m going to be cheering them on because those are my guys. I can’t wait to see what the ring looks like because I haven’t seen it.”
Brown added that he’s happy with his decision to play for Indiana.
“I loved being there,” he said of Denver, via Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files. “I loved my teammates and we obviously won a championship together. But now it’s time to move on.”
Brown also sent a message to his former GM in Denver. “Also, tell Calvin Booth that I love him,” he said, via Agness.
- Forward Obi Toppin, another newcomer, said he’s equally happy to be with the Pacers. “It’s really the culture here,” Toppin said, via Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. “They really care about one another. Everybody cares about each other.”
Hawks
Big man Onyeka Okongwu said he’s glad he and the Hawks were able to agree to a contract extension before the season.
“Definitely a stress relief because you know, you don’t want to have to go through all that next year,” Okongwu said, via Lauren Williams of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Awesome. I love the guys here, coaching staff, my teammates. I wanted to stay here and do it with the guys. So I didn’t even want to do all that but now I can play basketball freely.”
- Veteran guard/forward Wesley Matthews suffered a right calf strain and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, the team announced.
Raptors
- In a move that’s not viewed as the slightest surprise, the Raptors picked on the fourth-year option on the contract of forward Scottie Barnes, the team announced.
- Barnes, 22, is a former Rookie of the Year and was considered off-limits in trade talks being conducted by Toronto this past summer. He has averaged exactly 15.3 points in each of his first two seasons.
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