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Indiana Pacers: Why Bruce Brown Jr. $15M raise isn’t an overpay

ByMadie Chandler|
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 09: Bruce Brown #11 of the Denver Nuggets handles the ball while being guarded by Aaron Nesmith #23 of the Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on November 09, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - NOVEMBER 09: Bruce Brown #11 of the Denver Nuggets handles the ball while being guarded by Aaron Nesmith #23 of the Indiana Pacers in the fourth quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on November 09, 2022 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)

The Indiana Pacers signed Bruce Brown Jr. to a 2-year, $45 million contract on Friday. Before now, Brown made just a touch over $15 million in his five total years in the NBA. What prompted the Pacers to offer such an unprecedented contract to Brown? The new NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement and its salary requirements.

The new CBA requires all NBA teams to spend at least 90% of the salary cap, otherwise known as the salary floor. If a team fails to spend up to the salary floor, it is not eligible to receive the end-of-season cash distribution to teams dodging the luxury tax (Marks, ESPN). The salary cap for the 2023-24 season is set at $136 million, making the floor $122.4 million.

Before signing Brown, the Pacers were about $18 million below this floor for the 2023-24 season. That $18 million can be spent either in the free agency market or acquired via trade, but the Pacers opted to sign an impactful player rather than take on a bad contract from a cash-strapped team.

At first glance, Brown’s contract looks like a massive overpay. After earning just over $6 million with the NBA Champion Denver Nuggets last season, Bruce Brown will earn more than $20 million per season in Indiana. However, this is money the Pacers were already required to spend. It’s also money the Denver Nuggets didn’t have, so they couldn’t compete to retain a core member of their championship team.

As a small-market franchise, the Pacers will have to overpay to a degree to attract free agents. Sometimes this overpay is strategic, and others just make for bad contracts. The Bruce Brown signing is strategic and massively team-friendly.

It’s a two-year deal with a team option in the second year. This gives the Pacers the opportunity to decline Brown’s team option for the 2024-25 season and let him become an unrestricted free agent. If Brown works well with the team, the Pacers can forgo some cap flexibility and accept the second-year option. Even on a two-year deal, Brown’s contract is off the books in the same offseason that Bennedict Mathurin becomes extension eligible.

This is outstanding money and roster management from the Pacers’ front office. Brown is a hard-working, high-effort defender and a capable offensive player. He averaged 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.4 assists last season with the Nuggets. He also shot nearly 36% from 3-point range and averaged just over one steal per game.

Brown is a 6’4” guard/wing player that brings a championship pedigree and a winning attitude to the blooming Pacers’ culture. His fit with newly-extended Tyrese Haliburton and his integration into the Pacers’ system projects to be particularly smooth. The front office continues to prioritize defense on day one of free agency, and more moves are expected as rosters begin to take shape.

Stats via StatMuse.

Contract and cap details via Spotrac.

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