Former Denver Nuggets champion yearning for return to Nikola Jokic and Co.

It's been two years since the Denver Nuggets won the NBA championship, but things have changed a lot since then. They failed to defend their crown, and just a handful of days before the start of this season's playoffs, they shockingly parted ways with Michael Malone.

However, despite everything that has transpired, one former champion would love to be back in Denver.

Bruce Brown Jr. pulled up to Game 2 to support his former teammates. When asked about potentially signing for Denver again, he admitted that he would love that to happen:

"I’m a free agent, so if that opportunity presents," Brown said on Monday. "I miss playing here."

The Nuggets couldn't retain Brown in the offseason after winning the title. He signed a two-year $45 million deal with the Indiana Pacers, but he was ultimately traded to the Toronto Raptors.

He was a key piece to Denver's success, averaging 11.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 3-pointers per game on 48.0% shooting.

Brown played pesky and suffocating defense, guarding multiple positions and doing the dirty work to help the team regardless of whether he was a starter or not.

Paul Pierce says Nikola Jokic could demand a trade

The Denver Nuggets might have bigger problems to deal with. All the rumors about Nikola Jokic's frustration with his teammates and the coaching staff could only get worse if they flame out early in the playoffs.

Shortly after Michael Malone was fired, former NBA star Paul Pierce claimed that he wouldn't be shocked if Jokic was also on his way out.

"What it’s telling me is that you’re wasting one of the greatest players of this generation," Pierce said on April 8, via FS1's 'Speak.' "You’re wasting his prime now. How do you go into the playoffs with a focus, like, ‘Hey guys, we’re going to talk about winning a championship’, when now for the next week or two, they’re going to be talking about the firing of the coach in the locker room? I wouldn’t be shocked if Joker demands a trade this summer."

Jokic is a perennial MVP candidate and one of the best players in recent times, and losing him would be a catastrophe for the Nuggets, so they need to make sure to keep him involved in their coaching search.

Getting past the LA Clippers won't be easy, and a first-round exit could mark the end of the Jokic era in Denver.