LA JOLLA, Calif. — The things that confused other NBA coaches about Bruce Brown’s game are the same attributes that excite Michael Malone.

The Nuggets coach said he called Brown a day or two into free agency, wondering why Brown hadn’t been signed by a team. Brown’s answer was a good one, as the Nuggets signed him a few days later.

“Just put me on the floor, and I’ll figure it out, to be honest,” Brown said Thursday at the University of California San Diego after the Nuggets’ third day of training camp. “I don’t think other coaches realize that. Other teams didn’t realize that.”

Brown started his career as a point guard in Detroit, the team that drafted him in the second round of the 2018 draft. After two seasons with the Pistons, he was traded to Brooklyn where he was used at about every other position.

“That excites me,” Malone said Tuesday. “Versatility is the name of the game in the modern NBA.”

Few players are more versatile than Brown. He said he’s comfortable guarding all five positions. When asked if he would prefer to be the ball handler or the screener in a pick-and-roll set with Nikola Jokic, there was an uncommon answer for a player listed at 6-foot-4 and a little more than 200 pounds.

“Me screening for Joker,” Brown said. “Easy.”

When Malone revealed his initial rotations Tuesday, Brown was part of the second unit. When Kentavious Caldwell-Pope sat out of Wednesday’s scrimmage, he joined the starting group and got a taste of playing alongside Jokic, another unconventional player. While the chemistry may not have instantly clicked, there’s reason to believe it will at some point.

“I remember one play, there was three on one side, and I was (in) the corner. I cut baseline, but I think I cut a little too late for him to see me. So I asked him, ‘Should I cut earlier?’ He did hit me on a corner 3 one time, so it’s good,” Brown said.

“I like to cut. I like to find open spaces. He knows that, so it’s just really trying to get the right timing.”

If he continues to do the things that excite his new coach about his game — moving without the ball, screening and rolling, driving and kicking, and knocking down the open 3-pointers that come his way — Brown could very well find himself among the starters even without an injury.

“That guy is a pro. He’s a five-year pro who carries himself like a 10-year pro,” Malone said. “(He) knows exactly who he is as a player. He doesn’t work on things that is not in his wheelhouse. I have a feeling that Bruce Brown will close a lot of big games for us.”

For as good of a fit as he appears to be on the court with the Nuggets, he’s also liking how Denver matches his personality.

“I’m more laid back, chill. I like to be in the house with my dog (an Australian Shepherd named Luna) and my people,” Brown said. “Obviously, New York gets a lot of attention, a lot of media attention. That wasn’t for me, but I love my time with those guys.”

Conflicting claims

The highlight from Thursday’s practice, according to Brown, was a dunk over Jeff Green. The two were briefly teammates in Brooklyn before reuniting in Denver. The validity of Brown’s claim depends on who you ask.

“That’s a damn lie. Bruce did not dunk on me. First of all, he can barely dunk. And if he even tried, I would send it to the second row. He knows better than to even say that,” Green said.

“He’s dead wrong. He should be fined.”

If Brown needed some motivation, it might have come from Green claiming he was the worst dancer on the team in a video the Nuggets posted to Twitter.