Surprise news makes Toronto's confusing mistake that much more painful

This summer the Toronto Raptors had a plethora of options available to them.

A few moves before the offseason limited some of those options, including an extension for Kelly Olynyk, but they still could have gone into July with a large amount of cap space to pursue a player who would significantly help the team. There were scenarios where they cleared enough to chase OG Anunoby or even Paul George, and many others where they could have sought a player making $20-30 million.

Instead of such a pursuit, however, the Raptors decided not to enter the cap space derby. Instead, they brought back veteran free agent Bruce Brown on his $23 million team option. Decline it and they free up that space to go hunting; instead, they tied it all up in one ill-fitting player.

The Raptors inexplicably brought back Bruce Brown

There is no denying that the union of Toronto and Brown was a difficult one last season, as he struggled on both ends of the court and was a contributing factor to their record losing streak. It was a tough look for a player hoping to get a $23 million team option picked up.

Then he did, and it was a truly baffling decision at the time. Bruce Brown was not worth $23 million but the Raptors decided to pat it, deciding that they could get something of value on the trade market. Rather than have a deal lined up, however, they have failed to trade him since that date, keeping Brown and his $23 million on the books.

It now appears that the Raptors could never have traded him anyway, because he would never have passed a physical.

Bruce Brown is injured

It was announced on Friday just days because the opening of Training Camp that Bruce Brown was undergoing arthroscopic surgery to address ongoing pain and lack of movement in his right knee. Brown first sustained the injury during last season and played hurt on it for some amount of time, per a report.

That could be spun as good news for Raptors fans; that Brown's poor run with them may have just been an injury-fueled blip for an otherwise reliable wing. However, the short-term relaity is that Brown will likely miss all of preseason and likely some of the regular season.

It immediately puts pressure on Gradey Dick and company to step up and fill in the rotation in his absence; Dick had a shot at winning the job outright, but now looks like something akin to a sure thing. Lock him in as a starter now.

Two questions arise in the wake of this news. First, why did Brown wait so long to get the surgery if he was having issues with the knee during last season? He reportedly was hoping that rest would do the trick, but as he began to ramp up his training regimen for this season he didn't see progress in some areas.

The second question is much more biting: why did the Raptors pick up his team option if they knew he was injured? Trading him this summer would have almost certainly required a physical, one he would have never passed. They decided to pass on free agency in order to bring back an ill-fitting shooting guard who plays the team's most crowded position. That only makes sense if a trade is lined up when they pick up the option. Otherwise, let him walk.

Bruce Brown now needs to rehab his knee; the first wave of reporting said 3 weeks, which would bring him back during the preseason, but he is likely to miss even more time; recovery for knee surgery of any kind is often longer than expected.

The Raptors were out of their minds for picking up his team option; they seem even more foolish now that he needs surgery. Masai Ujiri and company need to find a landing spot for Brown before things go from bad to worse.