Report: Raptors want picks plus a ‘quality’ player for Bruce Brown

Report: Raptors want picks plus a ‘quality’ player for Bruce Brown

The biggest piece involved in the Pascal Siakam trade to the Indiana Pacers last week was guard Bruce Brown, who signed with the Pacers in the offseason after being an integral part of the Denver Nuggets’ inaugural championship run last season.

The Raptors entered Monday 16-27, two-and-a-half games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the fourth-and-final play-in spot in the Eastern Conference and 1.5 behind the Brooklyn Nets for the No. 11 seed. The franchise already made a potential organization-altering trade in late December, trading OG Anunoby to the New York Knicks for Immanuel Quickley in a five-player swap.

Now, anyone outside of Quickley and Scottie Barnes is essentially on the table for Toronto ahead of the Feb. 8 NBA Trade Deadline, including Brown. According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the price for the 6-foot-4 Swiss army knife isn’t inexpensive.

“The Raptors’ asking price for teams interested in acquiring Bruce Brown has been described as a future first-round pick and a quality player … at a minimum,” Stein wrote via his substack.

Brown inked a two-year, $45 million deal with a $23 million team option on the second year of his deal over the offseason, according to Spotrac. There is no guarantee that a trade will be complete, but he is expected to command plenty of interest around the league–especially from the New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat, according to reports.

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The 27-year-old will not be eligible for an extension at any point during this contract. Assuming his team option is exercised, the team that acquires him will only have early-bird rights on him, which could warrant a four-year deal worth up to $180 million. But it could be more likely that the option is declined so a team could re-sign him using his non-bird rights, which would be more team-friendly.

He is averaging 12.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 47.9 percent from the floor and 32.1 percent from 3-point range. If any team is looking for a player to impact in myriad ways on both ends of the floor, it would behoove them to inquire about Brown, though the price could rise beyond the aforementioned asking price if it becomes a competitive bidding war in the market.

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