TORONTO, ON - MARCH 25: Bruce Brown #11 of the Toronto Raptors shoots against the Toronto Raptors ... [+]
The Toronto Raptors are reportedly looking to shop Bruce Brown, who they acquired from the Indiana Pacers before the trade deadline in the Pascal Siakam trade.
The idea, according to Doug Smith from the Toronto Star, is for the Raptors to pick up Brown's team option worth $23 million, and flip him to another franchise, while attempting to re-sign Gary Trent Jr.
It's the right play for Toronto given how they positioned themselves before the deadline by pivoting off both Siakam and OG Anunoby, who went to the New York Knicks. It'd make little sense to keep Brown around, as he doesn't fit the timeline of the younger core, led by Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, and RJ Barrett.
In fact, the Raptors could even afford to go one step further, and listen to offers for centers Jakob Pöltl and Kelly Olynyk.
The Austrian big man, 28, doesn't fit Toronto's new timeline, and his skill set is much needed on more competitive teams looking to add a major defensive presence to their front-line.
Olynyk, 33, is even older, and while he's no defensive force, his outside shot and playmaking chops would likely be attractive to several teams. With Jonas Valančiūnas presumably moving off the Pelicans this summer, Olynyk should be of interest to a team that's looking to pair Zion Williamson with a floor-spacing center.
Pöltl, Olynyk, and Brown represent luxuries the Raptors cannot afford at this stage, given the pressing need of building up this roster the right way. Dedicating time, and considerable cap space, to three players who won't be major building blocks for the future would simply be wasteful.
That's not to say all three have to be moved by Day 1 of the offseason.
The Raptors find themselves in the fortuitous situation that all three play fairly unique roles, all of which should be considered attractive to other NBA franchises.
Brown, who remains one of the league's best connectors would immediately help a competitive team go further, by being able to play three, if not four, positions on the floor.
As such, the Raptors shouldn't be aggressive shopping all three, but rather keep the phone open, and let teams make their offers.
Brown's contractual situation is, admittedly, a potential problem, however. The 27-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, meaning any team that trades for him will run the risk of him leaving in 2025.
So while there should be plenty of offers coming in for his services, it's likely that none of them will present an enormous return, unless the receiving team believes he's the missing piece.
(In fairness, he might be. Brown did help the Nuggets win the 2023 NBA Championship before signing with the Pacers last summer.)
Olynyk and Pöltl each have at least two more years left, with Pöltl potentially having three due to a player option for the 2026-2027 season. That would provide receiving teams with some level of team control.
Regardless of how any trade will look, the Raptors need to be aware of their direction, and their place. It can be tempting to go look at the rest of the Eastern Conference, and talk yourself into wanting to compete. But with such a young core, Toronto needs to stay the course and optimize their asset accumulation.
Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
