Report: Raptors ‘trying hard’ to trade Bruce Brown Jr.

Report: Raptors ‘trying hard’ to trade Bruce Brown Jr.

Less than three calendar years ago, Bruce Brown Jr. was viewed as one of the best role players in the sport.

He helped the Denver Nuggets clinch their first-ever NBA Title before signing a two-year, $45 million deal with the Indiana Pacers the following summer. His role hasn’t quite been as consistent since, eventually getting traded to the Toronto Raptors ahead of last year’s deadline.

He’s flown under-the-radar since, though he has been injured for the majority of this season after undergoing offseason knee surgery. While he’s only played nine games this season, the 28-year-old could be on the move once again ahead of the Feb. 6 trade deadline.

“The Raptors are very motivated to move Brown and his $23 million salary, sources said, in hopes of growing the return from trading Pascal Siakam to Indiana on Jan. 17, 2024,” NBA insider Jake Fischer wrote earlier this week. “Brown arrived in Toronto as the largest salary component from that deal, alongside three future first-round picks, to land Siakam with the Pacers.”

Through nine games, he’s averaged 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds on 43.3 percent shooting, including just 31.3 percent from 3-point range and 72.7 percent from the free-throw line.

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Brown could be a valuable salary filler to facilitate a bigger trade–assuming a team wants to dump another bad contract (or assets) onto the Raptors–or a quality role player to add to any contending team. According to Fischer, there were “roughly a dozen teams” willing to sign Brown to a mid-level exception before he signed with Indiana in 2023.

He may be on the books for $23 million this season, but could a contending team be willing to swing for the fences for Brown? It will be very interesting to monitor.

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