Holdup in Raptors & Knicks Trade Talks For Bruce Brown Revealed

The Toronto Raptors don’t want any more 2024 first-round picks.

At this point, three picks in the top 31 is already too many for the Raptors who could have as many as four picks in the draft if the top-six protected first-round pick they owe to San Antonio doesn’t convey this year. As Raptors president Masai Ujiri said last month, there are no plans to bring in three rookies next season, let alone four.

That’s created an issue in trade talks with the New York Knicks for Bruce Brown, according to Sportsnet’s Michael Grange. The Knicks have two first-round picks this year, their own and a top-10 protected pick from the Dallas Mavericks, that they’ve reportedly made available to the Raptors in trade talks for Brown.

Toronto, however, is pushing for one of New York’s future first-round picks, potentially one of the two first-round picks the organization has in 2025, either the Knicks’ own or a top-four protected pick from the Bucks. New York also has a pair of convoluted and heavily protected picks from the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards that likely won’t convey for years, if at all as first-round picks.

The Knicks are said to be “loathe” to give up any of those future picks after 2024 as they’d prefer to keep their war chest of future picks available to potentially move in trades down the road.

If a deal with New York and Toronto does transpire, it’ll likely include Evan Fournier as matching salary for Brown. The 31-year-old Fournier has a $19 million team option for next season that the Raptors could just decline to create more salary cap space in the summer.