Denver, CO
Keeler: Bruce Brown says Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray’s Nuggets still “best team” in NBA. He’s right. Know what? They still miss him.
It’s not the cowboy you miss so much as the ride. Bruce Brown didn’t just finish Nikola Jokic’s sentences. He finished lobs with exclamation points. He spun loose balls into gold, three seconds into two points.
On Bruce Brown Day at Ball Arena, a 117-109 Nuggets victory, the most Bruce Brown Moment probably came with 2.9 seconds left in the first half — 2.9 seconds that should’ve been nothing.
Jamal Murray swished a free throw that put the Nuggets up 60-55. Brucey B responded by sprinting up the right boundary like Usain Bolt, snatching the relay heave at midcourt, then blowing past the Blue Arrow, who had two fouls at the time, for a layup that just beat the buzzer.
“We gave Bruce a coast-to-coast drive on a Jamal made free throw,” Denver coach Michael Malone noted after the game, “which can’t happen.”
Honestly? They’re fine. More than fine, now that you mention it. At the season’s midway point, the defending NBA champs have the same record (28-13) after 41 games as they did a year ago. The best starting five in the league got four 20-point efforts and daggers from everybody. These Nuggets are the cruelest kind of cage fighters, lulling you into a false sense of security on the mat before calmly twisting an arm around your neck and squeezing you into the arms of Morpheus.
“That’s a great team,” said Brown, the former Nuggets sixth man who posted 18 points, 10 boards and six assists for Indiana on his personal ring day. “They’re the best team in the league until they get knocked off.”
And yet they’re kinda short on those Brucey B points, sometimes, aren’t they?
The cheapies that come from runouts. The gifts you don’t realize you’ve missed until you see No. 11 streaking downcourt and stuffing them in somebody else’s piggy bank.
The Nuggets ranked fifth in the NBA in fast-break points during the 2022-23 regular season. Denver opens the week at a more modest 18th (13.3 per game) in the loop this winter. The Pacers, who secured Brown’s services with a mammoth two-year, $45-million free-agent contract this past summer, are second, at 17.5 per tilt.
“Everyone (with the Nuggets), they knew that at some point I was gonna leave last year,” Brown recalled after the game. “They cheered me on. They said, ‘You (couldn’t) come back,’ because they knew I couldn’t turn down (the money) I got. But I’m happy that they’re still in my life.”
In a divorce nobody wanted, the bad guy was the system. The salary cap tied the Nuggets’ purse strings tight. The Pacers, meanwhile, found themselves sitting on a chest of gold coins they needed to chuck at somebody decent. Brucey B was better than that, of course, a plugger overdue for a payday. Good for him.
Brown is a New Englander with a Wyoming soul. He still fits this town like an old pair of boots, even though the right one was being ornery at his locker stall after the game.
In a bit of serendipitous scheduling, Brown got a window to visit the National Western Stock Show on Saturday — “watching the real cowboys,” he cracked — before an emotional pregame video tribute on Sunday tugged heartstrings and stoked old fires.
Malone walked over from the home bench and extended a warm embrace. No. 11 looked like a kid at Christmas as ex-teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope presented him with that ring, 89 rubies and 16 carats he helped make a reality.
“I think it’s huge and it’s sparkly,” Brown noted later. “This is my first thing with diamonds on it.”
If the hoops gods are kind, it won’t be the last. Because when the current Nuggets surrounded Brown near the scorer’s table, smothering him with love, it felt as if he’d never left.
“It was more than what I expected,” the Pacers swingman reflected. “I didn’t know that the crowd is gonna cheer like that. I almost started crying, but (held back), because I told one of the fans I wasn’t gonna cry. So it was tough. I love it, though.”
You love the swagger, same as it ever was. Brown had sauntered into Ball Arena on Sunday morning wearing his trademark hat, then re-introduced himself to the Joker as only Brucey B could.
While the two-time MVP was practicing treys at the top of the key before the game, Brown snuck up behind, closed quickly, and playfully swatted away the Joker’s shot with a cheeky right hand.
Jokic laughed, knew the culprit immediately, and responded by bouncing the ball off the back of his old teammate’s noggin.
“(He) hit me in the head,” Brown recalled with a grin. “I didn’t know he was gonna throw it. It hit me right (here). But, I mean, that’s our relationship. Pregame (last year), he used to throw stuff at me, too. I was two lockers down from him.
“So yeah, I missed them.”
They missed him, too. Just how much, we might not know until the spring, when those 2.9 seconds can buck a season’s hard work into the sunset.
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The Denver Broncos hosted eight tryout players at mandatory minicamp this week, including quarterback Sawyer Robertson. It sounds like the team has made decisions on those tryout players, and Robertson won’t be signed (at least not right now).
Instead, the Broncos are signing offensive lineman Reid Holskey (according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler) and cornerback Blake Cotton (according to the Denver Post‘s Parker Gabriel). Holskey (6-6, 306 pounds) spent time on the Houston Texans’ practice squad in 2025 before joining the New York Giants in January. He was cut by New York last month. Cotton (6-2, 195 pounds) is a rookie who spent last fall at Utah, totaling 30 tackles and seven pass breakups in 13 games.
The two moves came one day after Denver wrapped up minicamp. The 91-man offseason roster was already full, so the Broncos will need to make corresponding moves to make room for Holskey and Cotton on the roster.
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Sean Payton has seen enough. The Denver Broncos’ third practice of mandatory minicamp, which was set to happen on Thursday, has been canceled.
“Just schedule-wise, today will be our last day,” Payton said after Wednesday’s practice. “I just finished telling them that. It’s unusual because there’s a lot of packing, a little bit more than normal when you’re moving into another facility. So when we’re back here, we’ll be in the new building.”
The Broncos are moving into their new state-of-the-art facility, but the decision to cancel the final practice of the offseason was motivated primarily by what Payton has seen thus far and how the team is shaping up.
Thus concludes the Broncos’ offseason training program, which featured eight total practices as a team, four of which were open to the media. There was more on-field activity than that, including walkthrough practices unseen by the press, but in essence, we’re talking about eight sessions.
Some players have already begun to separate themselves in their respective competitions. Others have really popped, while some have failed to really stand out in any meaningful way.
By way of a Broncos stock report, let’s get to the biggest winners and losers of mandatory minicamp.
Winner: Bo Nix | QB
Nix finally returned to the practice field on Tuesday, the first day of minicamp. He was limited to individual drills only, but it was still great to see him out there.
On Day 2, though, Nix took another big step forward, participating in a 7-on-7 drill that included a highlight-reel touchdown pass to RJ Harvey. Just getting Nix back on the field was a big win for the Broncos, but seeing him progress over two days and look overall very sharp was more than a little encouraging.
Winner: Jaylen Waddle | WR
Waddle has been a lightning rod since the practices were opened to the media. He just looks different. That speed and explosiveness really add an element to the Broncos’ offense that has been lacking.
It’s been palpable. But arguably just as exciting is what Waddle’s teammates and coaches have been saying about him. Payton has called him a “force multiplier,” which is another way of saying that he makes everyone around him better.
Not that we really had reason to doubt it, but Waddle has been as advertised thus far, and then some.
Loser: Marvin Mims Jr. | WR
Mims is not listed as a loser because of any specific negative plays, like a dropped pass or a mental miscue. It’s just that, with other receivers, including Waddle, shining, generating buzz, and earning plaudits from Payton, Mims didn’t really.
Mims is a similar receiver type as Waddle, but the newcomer made it clear how much separation exists between them in practice. Now, Mims is still important to the Broncos, especially as a returner, and Payton did compliment his clutch gene and contributions in big games, but you have to wonder how he fits into the game plan on offense. That question still hasn’t been answered.
Winner: J.K. Dobbins | RB
Dobbins was his usually talkative self at minicamp, but the fact that he was healthy and out there doing his thing is a major win for the Broncos. It’s good to have him part of the daily process at Broncos HQ again because he’s one of those veterans that takes players under his wing, and elevates them.
Winner: Que Robinson | OLB
With the recent off-the-field drama the Broncos have dealt with, some extra attention was paid to the Broncos’ outside linebackers. Robinson, in particular, separated himself during minicamp.
His get-off is something else, and he was dispruptive during the Broncos’ team periods. Vance Joseph has said he views Robinson as a “future starter.” Pending Cooper’s situation, the future could be now, though Elliss will also have something to say about that.
Robinson had one heck of an offseason. I’m really looking forward to his second year.
Loser: Jonathon Cooper | OLB
After being arrested twice in the span of a week, the Broncos excused Cooper from mandatory minicamp. It would seem the Broncos want to create some distance from Cooper until his legal troubles are resolved, one way or another.
It’s a shame, in more ways than one. Beyond what legal ramifications might await Cooper, he’s very likely to be suspended by the NFL, and the Broncos releasing him at some point is not outside the bounds of the plausible. It’s a good thing that rush linebacker room is stacked.
Winner: Matt Henningsen | DL
None of these winners has been quite as surprising as Henningsen. He made a huge play on Day 1 of minicamp, tipping a Sam Ehlinger pass and returning it to the house.
Henningsen followed that up with another disruptive Day 2. He’s gone from being an after thought in the Broncos’ defensive line conversation to establishing himself as a bona fide threat for the roster.
Loser: Jahdae Barron | CB
Like Mims, Barron wasn’t bad during the offseason; he just didn’t pop, really, in any way. He broke up one pass on Day 2 of minicamp, but beyond that, there wasn’t much to see.
It will be interesting to see how Barron performs in training camp. We know the Broncos have high expectations for him, and a role on defense, even if as a depth piece, will be created for him, but I was hoping to see more signs of a Year-2 leap by now.
Winner: Jonah Coleman | RB
Another as-advertised player. Coleman has proven he’s ready for the NFL, which was partly what attracted the Broncos to him in the draft.
Coleman stood out in a major way at minicamp and made it clear that the Broncos have more than just a J.K. Dobbins insurance policy on their hands. Coleman is a force to be reckoned with.
Winner: Tyler Onyedim | DL
Like Coleman the Broncos’ first pick in the 2026 draft has looked NFL-ready. The Broncos still haven’t signed Onyedim, but that didn’t stop him from participating in the offseason program, which is a good harbinger.
Rocking the No. 98 jersey, it’s easy to mistake Onyedim for the guy he was drafted to replace: John Franklin-Myers. That’s especially true when the rookie is out there making plays like JFM. Onyedim has earned praise from his teammates, including the All-Pro Zach Allen.
Winner: Evan Engram | TE
Engram looked very good in minicamp this week. He looked like a big, athletic, smooth, explosive receiver, which is what he’s been in the NFL.
Engram wasn’t really all those things in his first year with the Broncos, but I’m hopeful that Year 2 will be different for the two-time Pro Bowler. He’s had a good summer.
Winner: Troy Franklin | WR
Franklin seems like the obvious No. 3 receiver in the pecking order. That doesn’t mean he’ll get the No. 3 snaps on an exclusive basis, though.
As the Broncos’ No. 2 last year, Franklin wasn’t able to fully live up to that, although he took some big steps forward in his second year. As the No. 3, it’s more his natural spot and that should allow him to continue to thrive in the offense, especially with the connection he has with Bo Nix dating back to Oregon.
Winner: Sam Ehlinger | QB
Ehlinger had a great offseason. He looked way more comfortable and far sharper in the offense in what is his second go-around in Payton’s offense.
Ehlinger was sharp this summer, and if he can continue to build on the foundation he’s created, it could create some uncomfortable conversations at Broncos HQ.
Loser: Jarrett Stidham | QB
Stidham has been less noteworthy this summer, but that doesn’t mean he’s been bad. In comparison to Ehlinger, though, Stidham wasn’t as good, which is curious, considering his standing as the team’s primary backup since 2023.
If Ehlinger ends up leapfrogging Stidham, what do the Broncos do? They’re holding a competition for QB2, and they have to be prepared for the possibility of Ehlinger winning it, especially after his strong summer.
If Ehlinger forces this issue, Stidham could become expendable. Stidham is very unlikely to be a cut candidate because of his contract, but as a trade piece? There’s a reason the rumor mill has been active on the Stidham topic this offseason. It’s something to watch.
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The Mecca Sports Bar in Denver will be allowed to continue operations after it reached a settlement agreement with the city. According to the Denver Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, the business will be required to pay a $5,000 fine and have employees complete specialized training.
The bar had been under investigation for prostitution since 2024.
According to the Denver Police Department, there were two arrests for prostitution as a result of the investigation into the bar, in addition to a merchant guard license violation for failure to comply.
According to the city’s licensing department, the business will be under a probationary period, where if there are any other violations of law or rules and regulations, it could face harsher penalties, including license suspension or revocation.
Denver police investigators said they conducted three undercover prostitution stings at the bar. In every operation, officers said they were offered sex for money and told about a scheme where the women would overcharge for alcohol and keep the extra cash.
Mecca Sports Bar is located off West Mississippi Avenue and Federal Boulevard near Huston Lake Park and was formerly known as Club Dubai.
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