With the NBA Draft in the rearview, the focus now turns to NBA free agency and trade season. The Toronto Raptors made one of the first moves of the offseason in choosing to pick up the contract option on Bruce Brown as per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Bruce Brown is due $23 million on his contract for next season and could become an attractive trade asset for the Raptors due to his expiring deal. It's hard to imagine Brown in the Raptors roster plans past this offseason. With a $23 million expiring contract, Brown would likely draw interest from teams around the league looking to clear cap space.
Brown could potentially help a contending team as well the way he helped the Denver Nuggets during the 2023 championship run. Following a strong 2023 playoff showing, Brown signed a two-year, $45 million contract with the Indiana Pacers in free agency. He was traded to the Raptors last season ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
Brown played in 67 games last season between the Pacers and the Raptors, including 44 starts, at a little over 27 minutes per game. He averaged 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists with splits of 47.8 percent shooting from the field, 32.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 82.4 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Raptors rebuild looms as offseason arrives
Despite the Raptors picking up Bruce Brown's contract option, they are still in the process of a rebuild. They shipped off the last of the core pieces from their 2019 championship team in Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby.
The Raptors kept a key piece of their future puzzle in Immanuel Quickley having agreed to a new contract with the restricted free agency for five years and worth $175 million. Quickley was acquired in the trade that sent Anunoby to the New York Knicks. The Raptors still have one more major free agent to make a decision on in Gary Trent Jr. Trent is an unrestricted free agent and was acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers during the 2020-21 season.
The Raptors had a relatively solid NBA Draft as well with four picks, one first rounder and three second rounders. They selected Baylor's Ja'Kobe Walter with their first round pick, and Jonathan Mogbo, Jamal Shead and Ulrich Chomche with their second round picks. All four players could feature prominently in the Raptors future plans.
Even before the draft, the Raptors added to their future core in a trade with the Sacramento Kings. They shipped Jalen McDaniels to the Kings in exchange for a young point guard in Davion Mitchell who still has untapped potential. They also received Sasha Vezenkov who may or may not fit into the Raptors plans.
The Raptors are also reportedly on the verge of agreeing to a contract extension with Scottie Barnes. Barnes is considered a franchise centerpiece for the Raptors after having been named to his first career All-Star appearance. Last season, the Raptors finished 12th in the Eastern Conference standings. They missed the playoffs for the second consecutive season and the third time in the past four seasons.
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