Lakers reportedly interested in trading for former playoff enemy

The Los Angeles Lakers could be trying to acquire an old thorn in their side.

Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reports this week that the Lakers were one team to show interest in acquiring Toronto Raptors swingman Bruce Brown last season. Siegel further adds that the Lakers maintain interest in the 27-year-old Brown this offseason.

Brown is a likely trade chip for the rebuilding Raptors, who picked up his $23 million team option for next season but with an eye on moving Brown as a large expiring contract. He averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game overall last year and is known for his positional versatility, three-and-D chops and ability to crash the glass despite being just 6-foot-4.

The Lakers are very familiar with Brown’s game as he was a member of the 2023 Denver Nuggets team that went on to win the NBA championship. That year, the Nuggets swept the Lakers in the Western Conference finals, and Brown took some savage shots at Lakers guard D’Angelo Russell during the series. Although Russell himself might have to be included in a trade for Brown as an expiring $18.7 million contract of his own, it appears that the Lakers maintain a strong interest in adding Brown to the puzzle regardless.