NBA Notes: Lakers, Bruce Brown, Pacers, Aaron Nesmith, Magic

Lakers

The Lakers missed out on Jonathan Kuminga, but they may not be finished looking for another veteran.

Bruce Brown is a name to watch.

Jake Fischer said during a Bleacher Report stream that he believes Brown is “in the mix” for the Lakers, noting that Los Angeles has shown interest in the veteran for several years.

Jeremy Lambert of Roundtable examined the potential fit, and it’s not difficult to see the appeal.

Brown, 30, appeared in all 82 games for Denver last season and averaged 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists while shooting 38 percent on 3-pointers. He’s also a proven playoff contributor who helped the Nuggets win the 2023 championship.

Los Angeles has already added several defensive-minded wings, including Ziaire Williams, Matisse Thybulle and Quentin Grimes. Brown would give the Lakers another versatile veteran to throw into that mix.

There are complications. For starters, the Lakers could only offer Brown a minimum contract and would need to make another roster move to create a spot.

So this isn’t exactly a signing waiting to happen. But after the Kuminga pursuit went nowhere, it appears the Lakers are still looking around.

Pacers

Aaron Nesmith had considerably more time than usual to work on his game this summer. He’d prefer not to have that much time again.

The Pacers went just 19-63 last season, ending a miserable year that followed their trip to the 2025 NBA Finals.

Nesmith told reporters at the Pacers Foundation Charity Softball Classic that he used the extended offseason to get healthy and work on his ball-handling and decision-making.

“It was good getting a long offseason and getting the body right,” Nesmith said, via Grant Afseth of Roundtable. “Working on some things we need to work on and just the excitement of getting back to playing meaningful games again.”

Nesmith was limited to 45 games last season and averaged 13.8 points and 4.2 rebounds while shooting 37.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Indiana will look considerably different this time around. Kelly Oubre Jr. and Larry Nance Jr. were added in free agency, while Ivica Zubac arrived in the February trade that sent Bennedict Mathurin to the Clippers.

Tyrese Haliburton is also expected back after missing last season while recovering from his Achilles injury.

After 19 wins, meaningful games would qualify as a pretty good start.

Magic

The Magic might find out fairly quickly what they’ve got.

Orlando faces a road-heavy opening portion of the schedule, including nine road games in November and a four-game Western Conference trip during the month.

Don Strouble of Roundtable noted that the trip begins against Phoenix on Nov. 5 and Golden State on Nov. 7 before concluding with a back-to-back at Sacramento and Utah on Nov. 10-11.

That’s not exactly easing into things. Orlando also has 14 back-to-backs on its schedule, nine of them coming before the All-Star break.

The obvious concern is health. Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs give Orlando plenty of talent, but keeping everyone available has been an issue in recent seasons.

There’s also a new voice running the show, with Sean Sweeney entering his first season as an NBA head coach.

None of this means much in late August, of course. Good teams survive difficult schedules, and sometimes opponents that look formidable in August don’t look nearly as scary by November.

Still, Sweeney and the Magic won’t have to wait very long for their first test.