The Toronto Raptors are widely believed to be open to moving guard Bruce Brown before the Feb. 8 trade deadline — but it’s pretty evident that they won’t just give him away.
Brown was acquired as part of the blockbuster trade that sent Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers last week. Per Marc Stein of The Stein Line, the Raptors have a fairly high price for Brown. Names, a first-round pick and “quality player.”
The Los Angeles Lakers are among the teams said to be interested. Others such as the Philadelphia 76ers are not.
“Toronto knows that a variety of contending teams are interested in Brown, noting his contributions to Denver’s title run last season, making the Raptors hopeful they can spark some robust bidding for a player with both championship pedigree and a team-friendly contract,” Stein wrote.
Brown, 27, signed a two-year, $45 million contract with the Pacers over the summer, fresh off winning a title with the Denver Nuggets.
He scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds against the Bulls in his Raptors debut, shooting 7-of-10 from the field.
In 33 games with Indiana, he averaged 12.1 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists, shooting 48 percent overall and 33 percent on 3-pointers.
Overall, he carries NBA career averages of 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists with the Detroit Pistons, Brooklyn Nets, Nuggets, Pacers and Raptors.
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