Raptors Rumors: Team To Trade ex-NBA Champ Next Month

This will be a busy summer for the Toronto Raptors as they head into the next phase of their rebuild. And it will all get started by the time of the NBA Draft on June 26th.

The Toronto Raptors are expected to trade Bruce Brown by next month, per @SmithRaps

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According to a report by Raptors beat writer Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, the team has every intention of trading Bruce Brown by the time draft night is wrapped up or very shortly thereafter.

The 27-year-old veteran guard was traded to the Raptors at the deadline this past season as part of the deal that sent Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers. It was a swap that included two former NBA champions—Siakam in 2019 with Toronto, and Brown as a key player off the bench for the Denver Nuggets in 2023.

The Raptors, if they're able to get a trade in place, will be picking up the $23 million option on Brown's contract, says Smith, as he'd be a valuable expiring contract for teams, not to mention a potential good piece off the bench for a contender.

Despite his negligible impact on the Raptors since coming over, the buzz is that he's still seen as a positive tradeable asset, says Smith.

Chatter around this week's draft combine, is that Brown is still seen as valuable – a serviceable rotation player on a good team, like he was in Denver in 2022-23 – and could bring a useful piece in return.

Brown posted 12 points, four rebounds and two assists off the bench for the Nuggets in 26 minutes a night during their 2023 playoff run.

He performed similarly with Indiana in 33 games this season, but after his trade to Toronto, his numbers dropped to 9.6 points per game. He was supposedly dealing with a knee issue. The Raptors were hoping to flip him after the Siakam trade went down, but were unable to find a deal they liked. They'll be trying again, and are expected to pull it off, within the next 4-6 weeks.