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Toronto Raptors Expected to Trade Former NBA Champion

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Elie Deglaoui | Last updated 5/17/24

In January, the Toronto Raptors acquired wing Bruce Brown in the trade that shipped out Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers. Due to his contract, expectations were that the Raptors would move on from Brown at the 2024 NBA Trade Deadline. However, the Raptors elected not to trade him, keeping him on the team for the remainder of the season. Now, it seems likely the Raptors will finally pull the trigger and trade Brown this summer.

According to Doug Smith of the Toronto Star, the Raptors are expected to trade Brown around the 2024 NBA Draft. Smith says the Raptors will likely pick up Brown’s $23 million option and trade him after.

The Raptors have until June 29 (two days after the draft) to exercise an option on the $23 million (U.S.) he’s owed next season — a valuable expiring contract to put on the market.

The sense from a handful of league sources is that the Raptors are likely to pick up the option, then turn around and deal Brown quickly rather than wait until the 2025 trade deadline.

Last month, Raptors president Masai Ujiri said the team had a good exit meeting with Brown and will “assess” Toronto’s offseason plans.

“I think we’re going to continue to assess that as we go. We’re going to go into a lot of our team meetings now, coaches’ meetings and and try to figure that out,” Ujiri said at his end-of-season media availability earlier this week of Brown’s future in Toronto. “I think we had really good [exit] meetings with Bruce and Gary [Trent Jr].”

In 34 games played with Toronto, Brown started 11 of them. With the Raptors, the 27-year-old averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game.

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

(Via https://t.co/WfChxdgziE) pic.twitter.com/L1GG3LTqR1

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) May 17, 2024

Toronto Raptors Expected to Trade Former NBA Champion

Bruce Brown Was Relieved The Raptors Did Not Trade Him At the Deadline

For the first month of his Raptors stint, Brown appeared in numerous trade rumors. At times, it seemed inevitable the team was going to move on from him. Ultimately, nothing came to fruition. After the deadline passed, the one-time NBA champion was happy about staying put.

“It feels great. It feels great. Obviously it’s nice to have some stability. I didn’t know what was going on. So it was great. I’m glad to be here for the rest of the season and then try and work things out…I was watching golf all day, the Waste Management [Open] and I knew around, like, 1:00 I wasn’t going to be traded, so that was pretty cool.”

Brown has played for five teams in his five-season NBA career and will likely play for a sixth next season.

Raptors Head Coach Darko Rajakovic Enjoyed Coaching Bruce Brown

Although his Raptors stint was uneventful, it appears Brown made some fans in the organization. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic praised Brown’s game, calling him “a great competitor.”

“He’s just such a great competitor. He’s a guy that wants to go out there and help the team in any possible way to win,” Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic said of Brown. He called the six-year pro a veteran thanks to his experience and desire to contribute to winning, even on a team with a losing record. “He always talks in terms of team basketball… He has a lot of NBA experience. I’m really trying to get him to use his voice more.”

Currently, it seems unlikely Brown will play another game for the Raptors. However, it seems he made an impact on the team during his short tenure.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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