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Several quality role players are expected to be available on the market ahead of the February 6 deadline. But few of those players played a critical role on a championship-winning team, like Raptors forward/guard Bruce Brown.
Brown — who helped the Nuggets win the 2023 NBA championship — is expected to be highly coveted in trades. Among his suitors are the Lakers, who have the second-best betting odds to trade for him, per online sportsbook Bovada.
According to NBA insider Jake Fischer, the Raptors are “very motivated” to find Brown a new home or even buy out his $23 million contract if no trade materializes.
“The Raptors are very motivated to move Brown and his $23 million salary, sources said, in hopes of growing the return from trading Pascal Siakam to Indiana on Jan. 17, 2024,” Fischer wrote on his Substack on January 20. “If no trade materializes involving Brown, he would surely be in great demand as a buyout candidate.”
Lakers Interested in Brown: Report
The betting odds further confirm the Lakers’ interest in acquiring Brown, a veteran 3-and-D player who can help the team on both ends of the floor.
According to Forbes’ Evan Sidery, the Lakers are among the most aggressive suitors to pursue Brown in the trade market.
“The Lakers are a team to monitor as a trade suitor for Bruce Brown,” he wrote on X. “Since last year, Los Angeles has coveted Brown as a role player who would fit well alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Brown’s $23 million salary will make trade negotiations complicated with the Raptors.”
Brown averaged 12.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.1 steals through 20 games of the Nuggets’ 2023 playoff run. He also played a key role on the defensive end, often guarding the opponent’s primary ball-handler. Brown was also routinely featured in Nuggets head coach Michael Malone’s closing lineups instead of Michael Porter Jr.
Others Lakers Trade Candidates
While Brown would definitely be an invaluable piece for the Lakers, the J.J. Redick-led team is said to be more interested in acquiring a big man ahead of the trade deadline.
According to Dan Woike of the LA Times, the Lakers are eyeing big men such as Walker Kessler, Jonas Valanciunas, Robert Williams and Nikola Vucevic with the intention of moving Anthony Davis to the power forward spot.
“They’re certainly looking at depth options at center,” Woike wrote in his newsletter. “And ballhandling is expected to be another area they pursue. But a lot of the “targets” won’t totally shake out for another few weeks or so as the trade market gets clearer.”
The report came shortly after Redick hinted that the Lakers could revert back to two-big lineups — a formula that led to a title in 2020.
“We kind of went away from those two big lineups,” Redick said on January 16, via Silver Screen and Roll. “It’s something we did last night. It’s something we’re going to try to get back to for small stretches of games. It doesn’t mean we won’t play small ever, but that’s something I think where, when we can get some practice time, we can really work on those small ball looks.”
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