Getty Pat Riley
With the NBA Trade Deadline weeks away, the Miami Heat don’t have much time left to improve their roster. However, they are keeping their options open, and one option they have their eyes on is Bruce Brown.
Hoopswire’s Sam Amico reported that the Heat have interest in Brown. Not only that, but he outlined how a possible trade could work between them and the Toronto Raptors.
“The Heat are also believed to be interested in new Raptors guard Bruce Brown, and given that’s where Lowry’s career was most successful, perhaps a deal could be worked out with Toronto,” Amico wrote in a January 22 story.
Amico added that it’s unknown if the Raptors would want Lowry back despite his legacy with their franchise.
“It’s not known if the Raptors are interested in such a deal, but Lowry is certainly beloved by the fan base, and a final half-season run there may help a team that recently landed RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley.”
The Heat know Brown’s game well, as he played against them in the 2023 NBA Finals on the Denver Nuggets. In that series, Brown averaged 11.4 points while shooting 45.7% from the field and 36.8% from three, per NBA.com.
Raptors Preferred Trade Package for Bruce Brown
The Raptors acquired Bruce Brown from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Pascal Siakam. By trading Siakam and OG Anunoby for younger players and draft assets, they’ve signaled the start of a rebuild. For that reason, Brown might not have much of a future in Toronto.
NBA Insider Marc Stein reported in a January 21 story what the Raptors want in exchange for Brown.
“The Raptors’ asking price for teams interested in acquiring Bruce Brown has been described as a future first-round pick and a quality player … at a minimum.
“Toronto knows that a variety of contending teams are interested in Brown, noting his contributions to Denver’s title run last season, making the Raptors hopeful they can spark some robust bidding for a player with both championship pedigree and a team-friendly contract.”
Brown has a team option for $22.5 million for the 2024-25 season, which is why his contract is so appealing. The Heat have draft assets to offer the Raptors for Brown. However, a straight-up swap of Brown for Lowry doesn’t work because Brown makes $22.5 million, and Lowry makes $29.6 million.
Even harder is that, per CBA rules, the Raptors can’t include aggregate another player with Brown in a trade.
Dejounte Murray Not an Option for the Heat
The Heat may look at more options than just Bruce Brown. Among the available players is Dejounte Murray. However, The Action Network’s Matt Moore says that Murray is not an option for Miami, but that may not remain the case.
“Things can always change, and I’ve already been wrong on some things I’ve heard but seems like you can cross off Miami as a Dejounte team, with another cheaper point guard their target,” Moore wrote on his X account on January 22.
Things can always change and I’ve already been wrong on some things I’ve heard but seems like you can cross off Miami as a Dejounte team, with another cheaper point guard their target.
Moore did not name who that cheaper point guard might be. However, the Heat clearly want more help on their roster.