Nuggets should continue their team reunion

Brown was a key player on Denver's 2023 championship team, providing on-ball defense and scoring 12 points per game in the playoffs. He left for a huge free-agent deal with the Indiana Pacers, with the Nuggets incapable of matching under the salary cap rules, and now he's back on a veteran's minimum deal.

The 28-year-old Brown fills a big hole for Denver, who have been torched by players like Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the past two playoffs because of their lack of perimeter defenders. But the team still has more holes to plug, and there are a few former Nuggets who could be a huge help.

Point guard Monte Morris was traded to the Washington Wizards for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope before Denver's championship season, but was the starter in the 2021-22 season, averaging 12.6 points and shooting nearly 40 percent from three-point range. He's not a great distributor, but that matters a lot less playing alongside Nikola Jokic, a center who has had the second-most assists in the NBA for the past three seasons.

The Nuggets need another ball handler behind Jamal Murray with Russell Westbrook likely to leave. They also need to shoot more threes. Morris is comfortable with Jokic and Murray, and while he's slowing down at age 30, he can still shoot from outside.

Speaking of shooting from the outside, there's another high-risk, high-rewards signing the Nuggets could make to really move the needle. Malik Beasley is under federal investigation for gambling, but that doesn't mean he necessarily did anything wrong. After all, Terry Rozier was investigated by federal authorities for gambling in January, but was cleared of all wrongdoing this week.

Beasley spent the first four seasons of his career with the Nuggets, before bouncing around the NBA, playing for five teams in the last four seasons. Last year, he made 319 threes for the Detroit Pistons, who appear to have moved on to Caris LeVert after Beasley's legal issues.

The Beasley investigation reportedly involves a Jan. 2024 game where there was heavy betting on the "under" for Beasley's rebounds — but those bettors all lost, which suggests he didn't do anything wrong. If the Nuggets believe this, Beasley would be an excellent use of the Nuggets' newfound cap space after swapping Michael Porter, Jr. for the similar-but-cheaper Cam Johnson.

The precedent was set with Brown. It's time for the Nuggets to have a full-blown reunion — ideally at the NBA Finals.