Grade the Trade: Raptors make another deal with Knicks, draft big in newest proposal

Should the Raptors make this deal?

There are a few different components to evaluating this deal, which on the surface at least seems reasonable for Bruce Brown. The Toronto Raptors are getting back a veteran who can play, a first-round pick and a second-round pick likely to be in the first ten picks next year.

The first way to evaluate this deal is purely on value. Is this a fair return for Bruce Brown? The former champion is well-paid at $23 million but on an expiring contract. He is a good playmaker, a versatile defender and something like an average shooter; he has improved enough that he generally has to be guarded on the perimeter.

Bojan Bogdanovic is more of an offense-first player, but he retains most of his value on that end even as he ages into his mid-30s (he recently turned 35). He shot 39.8 percent from 3-point range last season and 50.7 percent from 2-point range for a strong 55.1 percent effective field goal percentage. Bogdanovic doesn't bring much as a rebounder or passer; he's essentially a pure shooter and scorer at this point.

Bruce Brown is probably more valuable than Bogdanovic, but "Bogey" retains value around the league and could probably be flipped by the trade deadline for value if he has a good season in Toronto. He could fit into the frontcourt rotation and essentially play at the 4 alongside Jakob Poeltl when Scottie Barnes rests. When you add in a first-round pick and a good second, this is absolutely fair value.

The second way to evaluate the trade is by adding in who the Raptors would take with the 24th pick. This is considered to be a weak draft in terms of high-end talent, but the flat nature of the talent pool means a future rotation player is nearly as likely to come from the 24th pick as the 14th pick. What's more, the Raptors need shooters and bigs, and some of both are likely to be available in that range.

Finally, there is the opportunity cost. The Raptors could decide to decline Brown's team option and go into the summer with his $23 million salary in cap space instead of picking it up to make a trade like this. Would the Raptors be better off with that space, or with Bogdanovic, the 24th pick and a future second? Given that the Raptors' cap space is not worth as much as big market teams, the answer is probably this package from the Knicks.

All in all, that makes this a really good deal worth taking, if not an absolute slam dunk.

Grade the Trade: B+