5 Expensive players the Raptors could take back in a Bruce Brown trade

No. 4: Rui Hachimura

The Los Angeles Lakers made a surprise run to the Western Conference Finals in 2022-23, leading to the team bringing back nearly their entire rotation, many of them on multi-year deals. Those decisions were questionable at the time and look even worse now, with Jarred Vanderbilt, D'Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura all filling up the cap sheet.

Vanderbilt is the most severely overpaid, but Hachimura is more expensive and not on an expiring deal like Russell. The former Washington Wizards forward is making $17 million this season and $18.2 million next season in the last year of his deal. If the Lakers want to get a player they can trust in the playoffs more than the streaky Hachimura, attaching an asset to his contract may be the avenue to getting a deal done.

Bruce Brown could start at shooting guard alongside Russell or Austin Reaves, or he could come in off the bench and pair with either one of them. His cutting was incredible playing off of a passer like Nikola Jokic in Denver, and LeBron James should be able to unlock the same ability. Brown would also instantly be the best defender in the Lakers' backcourt rotation.

The Raptors would need a real asset attached to Hachimura's contract, because he does very little to move the needle for them. He can't shoot well enough to realistically pair with Scottie Barnes, and while he would provide some marginal forward depth he isn't enough of an improvement on "replacement level" for it to matter. This would be a straight salary-dump for the Raptors.