4 Bruce Brown trades for Raptors to flip veteran guard to a contender

The Toronto Raptors had a number of roads available to them this offseason, from pushing in their chips to chasing a big fish to trading off of their veterans to using cap space to take on bad money. A few key decisions were swing points between very different paths forward.

Then the Raptors took on money in a trade with the Sacramento Kings, making it unlikely they would go the cap space route. That door was then firmly closed when they picked up Bruce Brown's $23 million team option, evaporating their cap space and ensuring they would operate as an "over the cap" team.

The Toronto Raptors need to find a Bruce Brown trade

The hinge point for the offseason now becomes whether or not they can find a trade to move Bruce Brown to another team. The veteran guard / wing / forward has proven championship mettle after playing a key role on the Denver Nuggets' title team in 2023, but he is not a great fit in Toronto and is clearly not a part of their long-term plans; keeping him around for the season is not their desired option.

What kind of trade are the Raptors pursuing, however, by moving on from Bruce Brown? Are they trying to flip him for future picks and expiring salary? Are they hunting for a star? Can Brown be turned into multiple contributors to further fill out their depth? There do not appear to be a lot of first-round picks likely to be available for Brown; can they go a different route instead?

Let's look at four different trade constructions that the Raptors could pursue to send Bruce Brown to a contending team, none of which involves a first-round pick coming back to Toronto, each representing a different kind of path forward for the Raptors. We begin with a deal to send Brown back to the team that he won a title with.