Getty Bruce Brown guarding Jerami Grant.
The Pascal Siakam trade to the Indiana Pacers is official, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The Toronto Raptors will receive Bruce Brown, three first-round picks, and Jordan Nwora, per Wojnarowski. The New Orleans Pelicans will also send Kira Lewis to the Raptors, a move that allows them to get below the luxury tax. While the Siakam trade doesn’t change much for the New York Knicks as it stands, there’s a possibility that they can get involved in the future.
According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, the Knicks have shown interest in Brown, a highly-regarded wing defender.
“For what it’s worth, Raptors are allowed to flip Brown before trade deadline. They just can’t aggregate him w/ other players. Knicks expressed interest in Brown during free agency. He’s a CAA client, as well. Under contract for $22M this season w/ a $23M team option in 24-25.”
Bruce Brown Had Interest From the Knicks in Free Agency
It was reported early on in the offseason that Brown had interest from the Knicks. Brown eventually signed with Indiana, but the interest from New York was there.
Despite the addition of OG Anunoby, the Knicks could decide to bring a player of Brown’s caliber in. There would certainly be even more redundancy on the roster, but Tom Thibodeau loves players who do what Brown does.
Steve Popper of the Newsday Sports reported that the Knicks showed interest in Brown and as long as the Knicks and Raptors are on friendly terms, they could make a move here.
It remains to be seen if the Knicks want to make a move for another defensive-minded player or trade for a scorer off the bench.
Fred Katz listed nine potential trade candidates for the Knicks on January 16, and Brown was one of them.
“Some players who fit that description include (in no particular order): the Portland Trail Blazers’ Malcolm Brogdon, the Utah Jazz’s Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton, the Charlotte Hornets’ Terry Rozier, the Indiana Pacers’ Bruce Brown and T.J. McConnell, the Atlanta Hawks’ Bogdan Bogdanović, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Caris LeVert and the Dallas Mavericks’ Tim Hardaway Jr.”