Bruce Brown made the first of his offseason business decisions. 

The 26-year-old guard who made the go-ahead bucket in the Nuggets’ championship-sealing Game 5 win over Miami reportedly declined his player option worth just more than $6.8 million for next season on Wednesday. 

Shams Charania of The Athletic was first to report the news. 

There’s a more important decision still to be made.  

Brown expressed interest in returning to Denver throughout the Nuggets’ championship celebrations, and that’s still an option. Declining the player option allows Brown to maximize his salary next season should he want to stay in Denver.  A $7.8 million salary is expected to be the most the Nuggets will be able to offer Brown for the upcoming season when free agency starts on June 30.  The sides could agree to a more lucrative deal next offseason.  

If Brown wants to cash in on his productive season with the Nuggets in free agency, he’ll have another decision to make. Many of the teams with the most cap space available do not project to be in position to offer Brown another chance to compete for a championship in the foreseeable future. Another wrinkle comes in the form of a new collective bargaining agreement that goes into effect July 1. 

After proving that he had the requisite skillset to play guard in the regular season, Brown made 51.1% of his shots and averaged 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals in Denver’s 20 playoff games. Throughout his first, and potentially only season in Denver, Brown said he felt like a natural fit with the Nuggets on and off the court. 

Whether or not that chemistry and opportunity to compete for another championship with the Nuggets is worth millions of dollars is a decision Brown will have to make as an unrestricted free agent.