Bruce Brown was acquired by the Toronto Raptors in the trade that sent Pascal Siakam to the Indiana Pacers.
Brown won a championship with the Denver Nuggets last season before getting a big pay day in the free agency from the Pacers.
Now Brown finds himself on a rebuilding Raptors team that could either keep him or move him ahead of the Feb. 8 trade deadline.
Brown made his Raptors debut on Jan. 18 against the Chicago Bulls. Brown didn’t have any time to learn the plays with the team, but he still had a solid outing.
Brown came from off the bench and had 15 points, 7 rebounds on 7-10 shooting in 25 minutes of action.
He did a lot of good things offensively and defensively. He was a seamless fit on the floor with the Raptors personnel.
Brown was rocking a No. 11 jersey in this one, but he had to pay up to get it. Brown said he paid Jontay Porter $10K for the No. 11 jersey number.
“I thought he was going to ask for more,” Brown said.
He coordinated the deal by reaching out to his former teammate Michael Porter Jr. to ask if his brother (Jontay) would give up the number via TSN:
Bruce Brown said he paid Jontay Porter $10K for the No. 11 jersey number 🤑
“I thought he was going to ask for more”
Brown reached out to his former teammate Michael Porter Jr. to ask if his brother would give up the number 🤣 pic.twitter.com/ScrmkbvkzW
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 19, 2024
Porter is on a two-way contract so $10K is a lot of cash for him. Meanwhile, Brown secures the number of his preference, making this a win-win for both sides.
Brown has value on the trade market
Now the question is will Brown remain with the Raptors past the trade deadline?
There’s already a lot of speculation about if the Raptors will trade Brown as he is said to have significant interest from around the league, per Shams Charania.
The Raptors could look to keep Brown as a solid contributor with their young core or trade him in hopes of cashing in on another first-round pick or multiple second-round picks.
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